Issue 08

08 26.04.21

Just a Sliver

Salient Magazine

Underfunding New Zealand’s Students’ Associations - P14

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Editorial

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Letters and Notices News

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Just A Sliver: Underfunding New 14 - 17 Zealand’s Students’ Associations 20 - 21

Centrefold

22 - 23

Tuakiri

24 - 28

Columns Shit’s Fucked, Shit’s Good (24), To be Frank (25), $10 Jugs (26), Flat Chat (27), VUWSA (28)

29 - 35

Culture Poetry (29), Podcasts: Whats new! (30), Quiz (33), Bakery Run (34)

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Entertainment

About Us Salient is published by, but remains editorially independent from, the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association (VUWSA). Salient is funded in part by VUWSA through the Student Services Levy. Salient is a member of the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA).

Complaints Complaints regarding the material published in Salient should first be brought to the Editors in writing (editor@salient.org.nz).

If not satisfied with the response, complaints should be directed to the Media Council (info@mediacouncil.org.nz).

The views expressed in Salient do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, VUWSA, or the University.

Sink your teeth into it!

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Editorial Vaccines are the best medicine, followed by hugs.

Last week the Trans-Tasman bubble opened, and we’ve got mixed emotions. The risks associated with opening up the borders are not chill. We are again putting our faith into contact tracing after the announcement of a positive case, as no changes have been made to the travel regulations.

We’re not in the “post-COVID world” people keep trying to refer to. International travel is scary—especially for those who are most vulnerable. We’re at the start of the vaccine roll-out. Unless you’re in one of the first three groups (which you can see online at https://covid19.govt. nz/) you won’t be able to get the vaccination until July.

In the meantime, we have to keep on top of the hand washing and mask-wearing and testing and doing all the things.

There’s a reason why the opening scene of Love Actually is one of the most iconic movie moments.

You’re seeing unfiltered expressions of emotion—happy tears of joy in a public setting. Airport hugs are at once a private embrace, and public display of love.

And now we’ve got this real-life movie montage heightened by a pandemic. When the photos started rolling in of arrival lounges in New Zealand and Australia, some of us wept. These reunions came after over 15 months of separation, and a journey across the sea. Not being able to see those you call family can be rough, and we were reminded of those first post (NZ) lockdown hugs. After all the shite news, we’re getting stories of grandparents meeting their grandchildren for the first time, or of people who did lockdown in apartments on their own returning to friends.

Brought to you by Peoples Coffee

Despite a lot of us having the luxury of FaceTime and Zoom, some of our family members cannot afford, or have not adapted to, these modern technologies.

Matthew spent an hour on the landline trying to explain to his Grandma how to use YouTube to stream the Easter Sunday Mass during lockdown. There really is no substitute for irl communication.

Even if you’re not having a reunion with whānau from Australia, maybe just hug someone you love. A lot of people still can’t be hugging. A recent survey (British based) came up with a list of 30 things people are most looking forward to after lockdown, and giving someone a hug came in at number four.

In this issue, we’ve got pie charts, an interview with an NZ pie expert, and a pie quiz. See Johnny’s feature on page 14 for a run down on the Student Services Levy (SSL). Johnny argues that VUWSA is being underfunded, especially when you compare it to the funding that other Students’ Associations are getting.

The last time students were surveyed about the use of the SSL was 2019, and only 26.6% of undergrads responded. So, have a think about how you want that money spent.

We hope you enjoy the crossword,

Sally Ward (she/her) and Matthew Casey (he/him)

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NOTICES & LETTERS Join Our Reading Study If your native language is NOT English, join our reading study and receive a $30supermarket voucher!

What’s involved? Two reading sessions about 1.5 hours each (no more than 7 days apart).

Read short texts while your eye movements are being recorded. Both sessions are held in a lab on Kelburn Campus. Please email Ross van de Wetering ross.vandewetering@vuw.ac.nz

STUDiO x Salient STUDiO and Salient are looking for content from Te Aro. This could be anything and everything; be it news, a center-fold, poetry, reviews or an article. Feel free to pitch new ideas as well. STUDiO can share content on your behalf or put it in our column. We are hoping to have one on a regular basis, so if you are keen to contribute to either of these, then reach out to editor@salient.org.nz or studio.vuw@outlook. com. Feel free to just slide on in to either of our DMs as well.

Originally posted by @studio_vuw

Don’t smoke and drive I feel like your “$10 drugs” review in this week’ issue promotes drug driving.

Sounds like the people got baked in their car and drove while high. If this wasn’t the case they should have made sure to say.

Drug driving is really dangerous and the already blasé attitude people have towards it does not need to be encouraged by articles like this being so chill about it.

Submit Letters and Notices for future issues

by Tuesdays 5pm to editor@salient.org.nz

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Letters and Notices

Salient Writers Meeting

www.salient.org.nz

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News

Opinion / Modern Slavery Act Dumped Desks / News Recap

‘A matter of basic human rights:’ Petition for an inquiry into the consequences of conversion therapies for autistic children drafted Kane Bassett, Ngāti Apa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, (he/him) A formal petition to consider a ban on all types of applied behavioral analysis therapies in New Zealand has been drafted, and will be presented to Parliament in the next few months.

The petition has been drafted by the Autistic Collaboration Trust, a charitable trust that is incorporated in New Zealand. It acts as a global hub for mutual support that encourages neurodivergent individuals, and ventures to connect and establish long-term collaborations through resources such as the AutoCollab website. Also involved are the autistic communities and organisations represented by the trust’s six trustees. All of the trustees openly identify as autistic, and three reside in New Zealand, with the others residing in Australia, the US, and the UK.

Photo: Image used for ActionStation petition

traumatises them, it also makes them vulnerable to Member of the Autistic Collaboration Trust and one of its exploitation.” drafters, Jorn Bettin, says the petition is an immediate call to action, and will ask the Government to acknowledge The petition is based on the lived experiences that Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) is “conversion shared within the autism community, and on years therapy for autistic people”. of academic research into the traumatising and damaging effects of autistic conversion therapy, says ABA is defined in the The New Zealand Autism Spectrum Bettin. These lived experiences, and the research, Disorder Guideline as “the process of systematically show that the actual results achieved with ABA applying interventions based on the principles of include “depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation, social learning theory to improve socially significant behaviours expectations that are toxic for autistic people, as well to a meaningful degree and to demonstrate that as environments which create sensory overload”, says the interventions employed are responsible for the Bettin. He adds that continued use of ABA in New improvement in behaviour.”

Zealand would condemn autistic children to to high rates of depression, PTSD, and suicide, and would only But Bettin says the behavioral interventions involved in reinforce the systemic discrimination encountered by the use of ABA are inhumane, and adds they negatively autistic people in many aspects of life. impact children most.

“Autistic children are systematically being taught to ignore their own feelings and needs. Young austistic children are exposed to 20 to 40 hours of intensive ‘normalisation therapy’ per week. This not only

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Bettin points out that a key issue with ABA is in how practitioners make decisive calls on noticeable presentations of anxiety and depression in therapy.

“Instead of acknowledging anxiety and depression

as the result of the highly stressful environments and dehumanising treatments that autistic children are exposed to, many ‘autism professionals’ prefer to interpret anxiety and depression as common ‘comorbidities’, which are then medicalised.”

Bettin also references research indicating that ABA practitioners lack the informed consent of the children upon whom they are acting.

The Government’s commitment to banning conversion therapy across the country by 2022 means changemakers must act in accordance with the petition, says Bettin.

“The Autistic Collaboration Trust and the autistic community in New Zealand are not going to stand by and watch legislation being enacted that bans conversion therapy for one group of people, but that allows the same underlying techniques of torture and dehumanising coercion to continue to be applied to autistic children.”

Latest research indicates that around 3% of New Zealand’s population are autistic. Compared to the general population, autists are 7 to 8 times more likely to identify as LGBTQIA+.

“It makes perfect sense to tie legislation around the protection of LGBTQIA+ rights to the protection of the rights of autistic people.”

Victoria University of Wellington’s Disabled Students’ Association supports the ban. “Any type of conversion therapy is horrible. In regards to autism, conversion/ correctional therapy treats autistic people as detriments rather than humans. Acceptance is crucial and our society should be proactively reducing the stigma regarding neurodivergence. ‘Curing’ autism is not only an outdated motive, but a barbaric practice. Conversion therapy must become a thing of the past.”

In a statement to Salient, Autism NZ Chief Executive, Dane Dougal, expressed the organisation’s intention to side with those who stand against ABA. “Autism NZ does not support any therapy that does harm to autistic people. The vast majority of the autistic and autism community stands against ABA therapies, and Autism NZ stands with the autistic and autism community.”

“Evidence clearly demonstrates that early intervention therapies do assist autistic people in achieving their full potential, but these therapies must not have the capacity to harm the autistic person in the short or long term, and should include educating the neurotypical people around the autistic individual on how best to support them.”

Despite support flowing in, confirming to the Autistic Collaboration Trust that “the time for change is now”, Bettin notes that he is expecting pushback to the petition from the autism industry, autism professionals, and nonautistic parents of autistic children. But, he adds, this kind of pushback is based on misinformation, rather than lived realities and facts.

“Many of [these people] have not connected with the adult autistic community.”

“The autism industry has big financial interests, globally it is a multi-billion dollar industry, and a marketing machine that targets the autism community (parents of autistic children) with misleading information.”

“Outsiders who are unfamiliar with the topic can easily be confused by the megaphones of the autism industry and the autism community (parents), and fail to notice the marginalised voices from the (adult) autistic community.”

“Many autistic people are parents as well, and we have decades of lived experience of how to raise healthy and thriving autistic children—without subjecting them to ABA or other dehumanising ‘therapies.’”

Another potential challenge is that most autistic adults are undercover autists who don’t openly identify as autistic, adds Bettin. “This means that parents don’t really have much of an idea of what a fulfilled and happy autistic life path might look like, and by default end up projecting their own expectations about success onto their children.”

In this vein, Bettin says it is crucial that people, especially parents of autistic children, “start listening to the lived experiences of autistic adults.”

“We all started out as autistic children, without formal diagnosis, and without intensive ABA ‘therapy.’ We have found our path in life, we’ve experienced decades of discrimination [...] and have remained autistic throughout.”

The petition will also aim to reduce stigmatisation in the current social climate surrounding people with autism, to show that “there is nothing wrong being autistic,” says Bettin. Rather, “there is something wrong with the hypernormative society we have created.”

The petition is being hosted on Action Station, and the Autistic Collaboration Trust hopes it will reach 5000 signatures before it is presented to Parliament.

Andrew Little, Minister for Health, has not yet responded to Salient’s request for comment.

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Opinion: Samoa’s election will be a prominent moment in history James Holt (ia) Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngai Te Ohuake, Whangaroa You can be forgiven for not knowing about the Samoan election. Coverage has been minimal, with only a light touch analysis in New Zealand media. The election, however, is one to watch, because underneath the tallying of seats in the 51-seat Fono (Samoan Parliament) is a nation grappling with contentious constitutional changes which have rocked their political establishment.

Samoan politics has been dominated by the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) since 1982, and HRPP leader, Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, has held the Photo: Samoan Flag office of Prime Minister from 1998. His tenure as Prime Minister has seen five New Zealand Prime Ministers come Supporters view the amendments as simple embedments and go. of Samoan culture into the constitution. Minister of Police and Correction Services, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, The 2016 Samoan election saw the HRPP win 35 seats said the changes were motivated to “reflect Samoa in its in the Fono, with an additional 12 independent members constitution and laws”. joining them. Tautua Samoa, the only other party in the Fono, retained just two seats and lost parliamentary party Laauli Leuatea Polataivao, a former HRPP Member of status. This left the Fono with no official opposition, and the Fono, voted against one of the amendments and was Samoa with effectively one-party rule for the term just expelled from the Party. He then went on to form FAST. now ended.

After Polataivao’s dissension, a series of HRPP members Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST), the main rival of HRPP this election, was formed in 2020 due to disagreements within the HRPP over the passing of three bills. The bills sought constitutional amendments to the Lands and Titles Court of Samoa (the Court), and appeals over the Court’s rulings. The Court is responsible for dispute resolution and succession of customary land, significant in a country like Samoa where over 80% of all land is customary title.

The amendments passed 42-4 in the Fono on 15 December 2020 under urgency, shrouded in a haze of controversy. Leiataualesa Komisi Koria, President of Samoa Law Society, raised concerns regarding the amendments. In an interview with Tagata Pasifika, he said: “You [Samoan people] would not have the protection of your constitutional rights, and that includes the right to a fair trial”.

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left the Party, including former Deputy Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, who became leader of FAST on March 9 .

FAST campaigned on repealing the constitutional amendments, setting term limits for the Prime Minister and decentralising services to villages. The HRPP focused on defending the constitutional amendments and campaigned on establishing a standalone Ministry of Culture and Ministry of the Environment.

On election day, results began to roll in, and preliminary results showed a dead heat. HRPP won 25 seats—down 10 from 35 in 2016. The real story, though, surrounds FAST, which will enter the Fono with 25 seats, despite having only been established the year before. The 2525 deadlock left a single independent MP, Tuala Iosefa Ponifasio, as king or queenmaker. At least, that’s what preliminary results showed.

On April 21, Ponifasio agreed to join FAST, which would’ve made Mata’afa the first female Prime Minister of Samoa if not for, somewhat ironically, Article 44(1A) of the Samoan constitution. Article 44(1A) requires a minimum of 10% of the seats in the Fono to be occupied by women, and the final results showed only 9.8% of the Fono would be women.

An extra seat was added, increasing the seats in the Fono to 52. The extra seat was filled by a member of HRPP.

This gives HRPP 26 seats, and FAST 26 seats, and leaves the 17th Fono with an even 26-26 split.

It’s unclear what will happen when the Fono meets next month, but one thing is clear: Samoa is divided on the constitutional amendments, and this division has seen the dominance of HRPP challenged for the first time in almost 30 years. Regardless of who will walk away as Prime Minister, history in Samoa is being made, and we should all be watching closely.

Petition for Modern Slavery Act to go before Parliament Sally Ward (she/her) On 18 March 2021, an open letter was penned to the Government to “commence an inquiry into a Modern Salavery Act for New Zealand business and public sector supply chain”, with a petition now open for public support.

Labour committed to implementing modern slavery legislation in its 2020 election campaign. The United States, the UK, and Australia have all enacted legislation in this area.

The initial letter, penned by World Vision and Trade Aid, received 85 signatories, including Countdown, Noel Leeming, The Warehouse, R.M. Williams, kowtow, DATACOM, Barkers, Xero, Wellington Chocolate Factory, ascolour, PWC, and other New Zealand businesses.

The petition states: “Trade Aid and World Vision respectfully request that the House of Representatives, as a matter of urgency, enacts Modern Slavery legislation that requires public and private entities to report on the risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains, and on the actions they are taking to address those risks.”

Salient received comment from Bethany Britten, a World Vision staff member and former Advocacy Ambassador.

She describes modern slavery as: “the severe exploitation of other people for personal or commercial gain. It’s a human rights violation with exploitation at its heart and has captured almost all of the industries we encounter day-to-day.”

2018 findings from the Global Slavery Index show that the top five products at risk of modern slavery in supply chains were laptops, clothing, fish, cocoa, and sugarcane.

Photo: petition banner via Sign for Freedom “The Modern Slavery Act campaign is an opportunity for us to take action to change that, which I think is incredible.”

“It isn’t right that we should have to be always wondering if the products we consume are made in slavery. As the youth of Aotearoa, we want to drive the Government to see that this isn’t right, and that it must be changed”, Bethany says.

“Two-thirds of all those enslaved live in [the] AsiaPacific—the area New Zealand trades with extensively.”

Bethany hopes that through the campaign we will “become more aware of the injustices in our world, and move towards a world where slavery is history, not a present reality.”

The petition is open until 7 May 2021 via https://www. signforfreedom.nz/ or Action Station.

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Dumped desks collateral of VUW sustainability goals Niva Chittock (she/her)

Victoria University is downsizing to smaller desks as part of its sustainability goals, leaving a number of old desks unable to be recycled or repurposed.

replacement process is ongoing. No costs could be supplied either, also due to the ongoing nature of the work.

A concerned individual alerted Salient to the issue when several old desks began to appear in skips around the University’s Kelburn campus.

According to a University spokesperson, the desks seen in the skip were ones which were unable to be repurposed, recycled, or donated.

University spokespeople assured Salient that new desks were only purchased where necessary, with the recycling or reusing of current desks a priority.

“The University regularly donates furniture and other reusable/recyclable items to charity groups or schools.

Due to the large size and impracticality of these desks, those groups we usually work with were unable to accept the desks.”

“[The University] works to divert as much waste as possible from landfill by reusing or recycling, where possible.”

Two University departments, Property Services and the Sustainability Office, have been working together with a They explained the University was transitioning to smaller number of groups to ensure that as much as possible of desk sizes to better fit with VUW’s sustainability goals, as the old furniture can be recycled. well as to utilise space more efficiently on campus.

VUW is unable to donate desks to individual students due “The new smaller, straighter desks use less raw materials to health and safety concerns. The “lifting, transporting, and will be used across the University. This supports our assembly and dismantling of the desks” could pose risk sustainability goals [...] as well as [helping to] adapt to to an individual’s health. modern technology and paper-less workspaces.”

The replacement work is being carried out by VUW without independent contractors.

Salient showed some students the above image, and most admitted they hadn’t noticed what appeared to be a large amount of desk waste.

One commented: “if it’s anything like halls [of residence], then there probably are few restrictions on what can be put in the skip. I’d be surprised if the University monitored their skips and knew exactly what was going into them.”

The University was unable to supply specific numbers on the amount of desks being skipped because the

Photo: Skip Spotted on VUW campus

News recap Police officer who killed George Floyd found guilty

Wellington bus drivers strike for better working conditions

A jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter on Wednesday, April 24.

A series of strikes were announced on Thursday, 15 April, after drivers voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action. The first strike, announced on Thursday, 22 April.

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Ngāi Tauira relocated to Student Union Building VUW’s Māori Students’ Association has moved from 42 Kelburn Parade to the Student Union Building as development’s for the Living Pā near commencement.

“On Tuesday we conducted a takahi ceremony led by Matua Mike Ross to introduce ourselves into the new space in a Māori way and mark our official occupation”, said co-President, Safari Hynes (Rangitāne). “We’ve gotten off to a good start by having a good number of tauira attend our ceremony and coming through to enjoy our space.”

Bilingual apps ‘breathe new life’ into pūrākau Aho Wahine, a series of interactive apps, reimagines the traditional stories of Papātūanuku, Hineahuone, Mahuika and Hinenuitepō from a female point of view.

tandem with a new Māori Health Authority, established to better Māori health outcomes and strengthen “the partnership of Te Tiriti,” the Labour party says.

Trans-Tasman bubble opened Families were reunited on Monday, 19 April as quarantinefree travel between New Zealand and Australia began.

Salient staff members definitely did not cry while viewing photos of New Zealand’s arrivals.

VUWSA’s Monthly Food Truck Day makes broke student sad “I mean it’s great that we have different food options on campus,” said one student. “It would just be better if my friends and I could actually afford to buy something from them.”

Government to abolish DHBs The government intends to centralise New Zealand’s healthcare by abolishing DHBs and forming the country’s “first truly national public health service.” The new service will be called Health New Zealand, and will operate in

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Editors’ Picks: Gigs and stuff on this week Monday

Go for a walk, doesn’t really seem like there is much happening tonight.

Tuesday

Pub Quiz - JJ Murphys or Hey Day Cuba Street

There are endless options for where to do you pub quiz on a Tuesday. If you want cheaper drinks JJ Murphy’s is your place to go but if you’ve come into money recently, the Hey Day quiz is pretty top quality.

You’re best to pull up to these venues around 6:30/7ish to make sure that you secure a table.

Wednesday

Eyegum is an awesome free show every Wednesday night at San Fran. It’s guaranteed to be good fun and you can see some ripper local acts without spending a dime. If you’re lucky you may just find your new favourite band.

Songs to check out: TV Dinners - Flat Feet BADS (By a Damn Sight) - Above My Sanctuary

Thursday

O & The Mo - Source: Under The Radar

Friday

Team Dynamite - San Fran Team Dynamite are having their first tour in 6 years and this is a show you don’t want to miss. Lucky Lance, Tony Teez and Haz Beats are legends. If you want to know more about their story, we suggest checking out Respect The Process | A Documentary on YouTube Songs to check out: Team Dynamite - Very On Team Dynamite - “Dragon Fruit” feat. Louis Baker The Veils - The Opera House Two legendary shows on the same night. The Veils at The Opera House will be awesome. Playing stuff from their 2006 album Nux Vomica and other tunes.

Songs to check out: The Veils - Calliope The Veils - The Stars Came Out Once The Lights Went Out

Saturday

Mild Orange at San Fran is an awesome way to kick off your NZ Music Month. With O & The Mo as special guests you know it’s going to be a ripper. O & The Mo are a favourite of ours and Mild Orange’s album Foreplay is highly regarded by Matt.

Songs to check out: Mild Orange- Some Feeling O & The Mo - Pistachio Moon Dick Move - Source: Under The Radar

Georgia Lines - Source RNZ

Georgia Lines & Laiika - Meow Georgia Lines (Tauranga) and Laika (Auckland) will be an awesome night of pop at Meow. This is the first stop of their NZ tour, should be a sick Thursday night.

Songs to check out: Georgia Lines - Made For Loving LAIIKA - Any Way You Want It

Rad Fest looks awesome as with bands like Sure Boy (who played Eyegum a few weeks back) and Auckland punk outfit Dick Move. At multiple venues, Creeps Record Parlour have put together what is sure to be a rocking day of awesome local music in Newtown.

Songs to check out: Dick Move - Jerk Zero Cool - Full Buzz

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Editors Pick

Shit News.

Don’t mistake it for the real thing.

Everything you could buy with your automatic CPI adjustment

The Prime Minister announced on Facebook this month that student benefits would be increasing, “putting more money into the pockets of 60,000 students”. The increase, commonly referred to as the Consumer Price Index adjustment, occurs yearly to meet inflation, and this year means students get a 1.15% increase to the total amount they can receive in allowance and/or living costs from Studylink.

Salient took a geez at the announcement’s comment section and averaged the total benefit increase students said they had received—a humble figure of $2.18. Here is a compiled list of things students might wish to purchase with their newfound riches.

1. Exactly one loaf of dirt cheap white bread, with an additional 1.5L bottle of dirt cheap fizz (based on Pak n Save prices at the time of writing). This option is ideal for potlucks, but only if your host has butter and sprinkles in the pantry to spare.

5. One packet of mi goreng noodles from Kanti’s Dairy in Mt Vic. This option would leave you with 88 cents.

6. One condom from the bathroom dispenser next to Mauri Ora, but only if two dollars from your $2.18 is in coin form. Alternatively, you could save the money and ask VUWSA for a free box, or twenty.

2. If you saved the $2.18 each week for 14 weeks, you could afford a $30 pair of clippers. You could then ask your flatmate to give you a buzz cut, and afterwards bask in the glory of being the sickest cunt on the planet.

3. You could donate the money to Victoria University of Wellington and request it go towards covering 0.0000315942% of the $69,000 sign rebrand.*

4. 0.99% of one cable car ticket, provided you have a Snapper card with a student discount on it.

7. One standard bottle of UHT milk (Milos all week, baby).

8. One $2 mixture, to relive your glory days.

9. Alternatively, if none of these options tickle your fancy, you could take one look at the increase you’ve received and realise it’s probably going to do jack shit.

You could then do what most angry Vic students do, and vent your frustrations to Twitter.

*Salient speculates this is impossible, and definitely doesn’t implore the average reader to give it a punt and let us know how they get on

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Just A Sliver Johnny O’Hagan Brebner (he/him)

6%

Underfunding New Zealand’s Students’ Associations You stand before a gargantuan vending machine. It towers into the sky, shrouded in mist and cloud. A small round plaque sits at the bottom: “minimum purchase $871”.

Tucking your change away, a wave of relief, of familiarity, flows over you. While this monolith looks alien, it has something in common with every other vending machine in the world—it doesn’t work. As your money is sucked into the machine for a chocolate Up N Go, the giant internal machinery clunks invisible, a pause, and then an enormous bang as a packet of unsalted peanuts bursts open at the collection tray. You are allergic to peanuts.

This is how student services funding works in New Zealand. Every year, students add upwards of $500 to their student loans to fund non-academic services at their universities. But the system rarely works for students. The process for setting and spending these fees is murky, students often have little control over it, and it underfunds our student associations.

The CSSF is about your money going towards services for you. This year $13 million is going to fund Mauri Ora, VicRec, clubs and societies, childcare, Salient, and every other student service at this university. It’s something you need to know about.

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Feature : Just a Sliver

Acronyms and You Acronyms are an unavoidable part of any bureaucratic system like the CSSF system.

CSSF means Compulsory Student Service Fees. It’s the legal term for any yearly fee that all students have to pay to fund student services. At Victoria, this is split into the main Student Services Levy (SSL) and the Student Assistance Levy (SAL). At the moment these total $871 for most students.

The CSSF system was established in 2012 at the same time as voluntary membership (VSM). VSM changed up the law so that student unions membership was no longer compulsory, but opt-in. The CSSF system was introduced with VSM in 2012 to replace membership fees students previously paid to their associations. The important thing to remember is that VSM nearly killed student associations.

Although it’s not an acronym, the Ministerial Direction is important because it sets out how universities can make decisions about their CSSFs. Any decisions about the size of the CSSF and where it goes must be made either jointly or in consultation with students. It can also be paid out into nine set categories: advocacy and legal advice, careers information, counselling, employment information, financial support and advice, health services, student media, childcare, clubs and societies, and sports, recreation, and cultural activities.

The Symbols, What Do They Mean?

Let’s talk about the data. Because I know everyone skips over actual numbers, let’s look at some nice graphs.

Portion of CSSF Funding to Each Association in 2019 Numbers in thousands - add three zeros for actual figures Lincon (40%)

Otago (26%)

Massey (23%)

UC (22%)

Total Levy: $1,648

Total Levy: $$11,599

Total Levy: $8,600

Total Levy: $10,288

$3,063

$661

$2,291

$2,000

Waikato (19%)

AUT (11%)

Auckland (9%)

VUW (6%)

Total Levy: $6,478

Total Levy: $10,499

Total Levy: $23,942

Total Levy: $13,296

$1,186

$1,225

$2,212

$852

Oh

God

!

Funding to Association per Equivalent Full Time Student (EFTS) at University

Funding per EFTS

$200.00 $180.00 $160.00 $140.00 $120.00 $100.00 $80.00 $60.00 $40.00 $20.00

k!

Oh

c fu

$161.09

$171.46

$122.45

$47.68

$31.82 $28.12

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2019

2018

VUWSA

WSU

OUSA

(Wellington)

(Waikato)

(Otago)

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Pretty graphs, but not a great picture for VUW students.

So What’s The Problem?

The first graph shows us that

Underfunding is a near-universal problem for student associations. OUSA is running a deficit for the third year running. Massey at Wellington’s Students’ Association (MAWSA) can’t even afford to replace their “crusty as barbeque”. New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations President Andrew Lessells says that if radical change isn’t seen soon, most polytech associations will collapse in a few years. As well as overworking staff and executives, it means associations have had to focus on core services rather than new projects. It also limits their capacity in areas not in the Ministerial Direction.

Representation services like the class rep system also can’t be funded. Neither can transport or menstrual products. This is despite, as Andrew points out, these being services we expect to be provided.

despite VUW having the second largest CSSF pool in the country, VUWSA is getting squat compared to other associations.

Otago, the university with the closest CSSF pool, gives a portion to the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) over four times larger than VUWSA gets from Victoria. Even if VUWSA received all of Vic’s 2019 clubs and socs funding, they would still fall short of OUSA by around $400,000. The only association which receives a lower total amount of CSSF funding is the Lincoln University Students’ Association (LUSA). Not much of a win for Vic students—LUSA receives 40% of Lincoln’s CSSF against VUWSA’s measly 6%.

The second graph shows how much money each association gets per Equivalent Full Time Student (EFTS). More specifically, it shows that VUWSA has been comparatively strapped for funding since the introduction of the CSSF. At the same time, the Waikato Students’ Union (WSU) shoots ahead, nearly quadrupling how much money they have for each student since 2012. VUWSA

has less money to spend on students, is barely growing that amount, and is falling way behind WSU. In summary, the

University is underfunding VUWSA. But there have been increases haven’t there? Well yeah, but VUWSA still isn’t getting enough. President Michael Turnbull and CEO Matt Tucker point out that these increases only really cover increasing costs like wages.

While they’re able to run campaigns and big events like O-Week, this is all on a skeleton crew. Michael says they need more: “Currently the amount that [staff are] working is unhealthy, unsafe, and unsustainable.

If we want to continue to deliver a really good student experience, we need more resourcing and the University needs to acknowledge that we are doing them a service.”

So yeah, the

University is still underfunding VUWSA. 16

Feature : Just a Sliver

So it shouldn’t be surprising at this point, but

most student associations are severely underfunded in New Zealand.

This, however, gets a bit tricky. Assessing how the CSSF should work is a bit like tax. How you want it collected and spent depends on your own philosophy.

Just because the CSSF at VUW isn’t going to student associations, doesn’t mean it isn’t being spent well elsewhere. Well, kind of.

First off, associations are clearly still underfunded for the services they do provide.

Associations also argue that universities often give money to services that would be better run by associations. For VUWSA, that’s clubs and societies.

MAWSA President Tessa Guest points out the recent failure of Massey Wellington’s new Wellbeing Hub. Opened October last year, it’s had next-to-no engagement, “to me that’s because they went ahead and did something without asking what students wanted practically or taking them along on the design process.”

Even then, the bigger issue is actually that students don’t have control over the CSSF. Let’s look at Massey again. Tessa’s MAWSA Executive was simply presented proposals and given 19 days to coordinate and run its consultation. They ended up having to go back to the University refusing to support any changes: “I think they implied they were happy with us making that decisionn

on behalf of students, but we definitely weren’t.”

“That speaks to a lack of value of the student voice because it’s a consistent problem that seems to keep happening in every change that they keep trying to make.”

Andrew says that MAWSA’s situation is not unusual, arguing that the “in consultation” option in the Ministerial Directive gives universities an “easy out” with tokenistic student engagement. Massey’s current arrangement, and most New Zealand universities’ arrangements, are in-consultation models. While students can be influential, universities are not required to follow through on it. And while VUWSA and OUSA say they are influential under in-consultation models and have a positive relationship with their unis, their stagnating funding suggests more is needed.

Again, a shocker, students

are not properly engaged on the CSSF. CSSF systems are far less than transparent. It’s incredibly hard for students to get any information on CSSF decisions. Often the only published information is on the size of each institution’s CSSF and how much is spent in each category. Nothing on which services are funded, how much each receives, how fees vary across campuses, or on who provides the services.

So not only are students under engaged, it’s not clear how CSSF money is used.

Unsurprisingly many of these problems are compounded for Māori student associations. Te Mana Ākonga (TMĀ), the national Māori student association, Even where there is better consultation, Andrew says says that current funding models undervalue Māori it’s rarely done meaningfully. For MAWSA, it was the students and fail to support executive members who Wellbeing Hub. Wellbeing came up in student surveys, but when Massey tried to put it into practice it completely end up providing extensive support to their peers. TMĀ suggested that some Māori student associations only fell over. At Otago, it’s seen when unspent student get 4% the funding that larger associations get. service money is up for grabs. Different services can bid for those funds, and larger and already well-funded Andrew agrees with the TMĀ Tumuaki Takirua (coservices are funded. OUSA says this is because student presidents) Renata White and Nkhaya Paulsen-More surveys don’t provide detailed information on smaller and more vulnerable services. This results in a lop-sided, that Māori student services and organisations are particularly vulnerable to underfunding. They put “inequitable” distribution of the CSSF pool at Otago. this down to two overlapping problems. First, Māori

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and Pasifika student services often fall outside the Ministerial Direction for funding. Second, “because tertiary institutions are institutionally racist.” Nkhaya says, “if they don’t have that funding they collapse. It’s consistent yes, but is it good enough? Probably not.”

Universities also fail to consult with Māori students, usually leaving it up to the larger associations to do that work for them. While associations have been improving, they say universities are not taking the same moves.

Victoria is slightly ahead, with ACSSL providing two seats to Māori student representatives and a recently funded Financial Administrator for Ngāi Tauira. Still though, “the ideologies of the Treaty is partnership, protection, and participation. The three Ps. It’s the ideologies that do not happen or do not happen well.”

TMĀ believes funding for Māori student services needs to move to a Mana-based model. This means funding services that Māori students need, rather than just blanket services or a per-student amount. Renata pointed to Te Whare Tapa Whā as “a good simple framework that understands the balance that is needed within the four different spheres of mental health, physical health, community, and whānau.”

“So us, as a whare as a whole, need all those experiences in all those areas in a balanced state to govern and to navigate our space. So if there is mental health support, there is community and events support, there is food on the table, and if they’re not from the area of that tertiary provider they’ve got that [whānau] experience. If those objectives are met, there is a better space to navigate from.”

Another absolutely unsurprising conclusion,

Tauira Māori are not properly supported by the CSSF. There is a laundry list of other problems with the CSSF. Andrew noted one university using upcoming funding negotiations to blackmail a president into not submitting on the inquiry into student accommodation.

Others often try to “pump” academic services into student services funding, including wifi and other expenses. CSSF models between unis are even so incredibly inconsistent that there’s no established best practice.

There were some minor changes to the Ministerial Direction, mostly around increasing transparency.

However, this followed from consultation with several student associations which requested changes as extensive as repealing VSM.

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Feature : Just a Sliver

Instead, WSU may be a guide out of New Zealand’s CSSF woes. Just look at their funding per student, four times bigger than in 2012 and nearly doubled since 2017. Even accounting for fee increases and more students, WSU President Kyla Campbell-Kamariera puts the jump down to their joint decision-making committee with Waikato University. In 2017, WSU and the University created their Student Services Governance Committee, one of the few examples of making decisions jointly with students.

With equal parts students and staff, and co-chaired by the Vice Chancellor and WSU President, it is the actual CSSF decision-making body at the University. As well as the funding jump, Kyla believes it provides students equal control over the setting and distribution of all fees, and significant transparency. She also says the Union is sufficiently funded, has not identified underfunding in other services, and sees no need to alter the current arrangements.

Preferred models will vary from association to association, but the issue remains that students can’t see what’s going on and can’t do that much about it. Associations, especially VUWSA, are severely underfunded. This means overworked staff, overworked execs, and less time to provide the services they should be.

For a fee that students have to pay for student services, that isn’t really good enough. Neither universities nor the Government seem ready to take the first big step, so it’s pretty much up to students. The advice from presidents was clear; give your association a mandate, make some noise, hold your university to account. In short, collective action is the key to change.

And from Renata and Nkhaya to Tauira Māori, “Tauira Māori has got to remember that they have the mana within them to stand up and speak up about issues that are not only related to them and their journey, but also to support those that have gone before them, and those that are coming into university or tertiary spaces.”

So support your association, support their campaigns, and keep the University on its toes. And if you can bring yourself to, take a peek at VUW’s next annual report.

3 3 9 2 3 7 0 0 4 4 8 0 2 1 9 5 8 7 3 6 7 1 3 6 4 3 4 0 9 3 3 2 1

.14159265358979323846264338 279502884197169399375105820 749445923078164062862089986 803482534211706798214808651 282306647093844609550582231 253594081284811174502841027 193852110555964462294895493 381964428810975665933446128 756482337867831652712019091 564856692346034861045432664 213393607260249141273724587 066063155881748815209209628 925409171536436789259036001 330530548820466521384146951 415116094330572703657595919 309218611738193261179310511 548074462379962749567351885 527248912279381830119491298 367336244065664308602139494 395224737190702179860943702 705392171762931767523846748 846766940513200056812714526 560827785771342757789609173 371787214684409012249534301 654958537105079227968925892 542019956112129021960864034 181598136297747713099605187 721134999999837297804995105 731732816096318595024459455 469083026425223082533446850 526193118817101000313783875 886587533208381420617177669 19 www.salient.org.nz 473035982534904287554687311

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“Leeding you up” 29 March 2021 Hannah Mahon

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It can be a strange feeling to know you are a part of a culture, but not feel any connection to it. To be asked what your hapū and iwi is, but answering with uncertainty. Knowing you have to introduce yourself with your pepeha, but you have no idea what that even means. Listening to those around you speak te reo, but just nodding and smiling because you don’t understand.

These situations make you notice a large gap between you and what is supposed to be your culture. Something that is supposed to be a part of who you are.

My iwi is Ngāpuhi. Up north is where I belong through kinship and whakapapa, yet I have never even been further than Auckland. It’s hard to feel like you can claim your identity as tangata whenua when you have not experienced the feeling of tūrangawaewae, when you have not seen your maunga, have not swum in your awa, and have not walked between the walls and stood on the ground that your ancestors did. I struggled with this. I struggled with not feeling Māori enough, and the shame that comes with this. How can I say I am Māori, but have not even been welcomed on to my own marae? How can Once I recognised that this gap made me feel discomfort I say I am Māori when I haven’t stood on the land that and pain, I questioned why I felt like this, I questioned makes me who I am? How can I be Māori if I don’t even who I was, and I questioned my identity. Growing up know the very basics of what makes me Māori? and believing you are Pākehā, and then all of a sudden rethinking this and shifting your thoughts surrounding Once I started unlearning these thoughts and who you are, can be terrifying. That moment for me was understanding what it means to be Māori, I began to silencing. Silencing in a way that struck me to my core. bridge that gap between who I was, and who I am now.

In a way where you can’t hear anything, and only see a I started telling myself that as a wahine Māori it is my new door waiting in front of you to be opened. For me it birth right to claim my identity as tangata whenua. was simple, I needed to walk through this door in front People often undermine this when they ask, “yeah but of me and see what was behind it. Once I took that first what percentage Māori are you?”, or “oh, so you’re only step and peered through, it felt like my tūpuna were half Māori?”, and then go on to say, “weird, you don’t already there waiting for me with open arms full of aroha even look Māori”. This, to be blunt, is bullshit. We are and excitement. My tūpuna were beaming with pride.

Māori enough, and no matter what “percentage” is in our make-up, we are tangata whenua. No matter how much Claiming a Māori identity is not black and white. For or how little we know, we are still tangata whenua. Once so many Māori, this is something that we may want to I understood this, I felt a sense of coming home, and I reconnect with through healing, learning, understanding, understood where I might fit into all of this. I realised etc. The impacts and lasting effects of internalised that having whakapapa is enough, the rest will follow in racism and intergenerational trauma which comes from its own time. This is a part of the journey. colonisation, creates a heaviness that hurts. It takes courage to open yourself up to something that you have My journey of reconnecting has not been simple no idea about, and start a new journey of understanding or easy. It has looked like hours spent researching who you are. I think this alone deepens what it means to my whakapapa and filling in gaps in my family tree, claim a Māori identity. For so many of us, reconnecting is reaching out to family members and nourishing those a lifelong trek that brings heavy emotions along with it. relationships, learning te reo, taking Māori Studies at Some may not want to go on a journey of reconnecting, and this too is a part of being Māori.

Tuakiri Eden Roberts (she/her)

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Feature : Tuakiri

university, learning about tikanga, understanding how I can decolonise, building my purpose around upholding tino rangatiratanga, and so much more. Not only did my present life change, but my future shifted. I began to cultivate my spaces in a way that centred around this new identity that I was stepping into. I started to gain confidence and felt as though I had the strength to move forward in a way that reflected who I was becoming, and who I wanted to be.

I found myself being angry at family members for not having any knowledge to pass on to me, because they simply did not know, or care to know. I found myself upset that something which is a part of me felt so foreign and otherworldly to me. I mourned the years that I felt had been lost. Embracing these emotions and using them to push me forward into my journey has been healing for me. I still carry those emotions, but I also now feel a sense of belonging, understanding, pride, happiness, and most importantly, I feel Māori enough.

Here’s a powerful whakataukī that resonates with me and my journey, and might light a spark for other wāhine Māori that are trying to understand their identity. I found this in the book Aroha by Dr Hinemoa Elder. “Ruia taitea, kia tū ko taikākā”. This translates to, “strip away the sapwood, the heartwood remains”.

I understand this as your Māori identity will always be within you, you just need to find the internal courage to reveal your authentic, indigenous self, and reconnect.

Our whakapapa is always behind us, around us, next to us, with us.

Ruia taitea, kia tū ko taikākā.

I am displaced.

I am learning.

I am disconnected.

I am Māori enough.

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SHIT'S FUCKED Football just got fuckeder - Callum Turnbull (he/him) If there’s one group of people that the pandemic has affected the most, who would you guess? That’s right. The multi-billionaire owners of multi-billion dollar football clubs.

Last Sunday, 12 teams from England, Spain, and Italy confirmed their intention to launch a new “Super League” of European football. “Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans, and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires”, said Real Madrid President, Florentino Perez. Fans from all teams certainly shared their desires on social media, and outside the stadium before Liverpool’s 1-1 draw to fucking Leeds. How are you going to join a league of ‘super’ teams when you can’t beat fucking Leeds on the road?

Fans and supporters are incensed over this announcement, because it continues the immense entrenchment of wealth in football. FIFA and UEFA are only really pissed because it cuts into their revenue. But for once, fans and corrupt

fuckwits are in a Spiderman-3-style unison against a common foe: bigger fuckwits.

Clubs have realised that butts on seats return less revenue than broadcasting deals, and they can survive a pandemic by swapping tickets for global markets. By pitting mega teams against each other every week, they’ll surely maintain an engaged, global TV audience. Again, Liverpool can’t even beat Leeds, so how the fuck are they gonna muster up something worth watching against a different Super team every Wednesday?

Players have faced the brunt of repercussions from their owners’ decisions. FIFA has said players in the Super League will not be able to compete in the World Cup, nor in the atrisk UEFA Champions League. Many players from the “Dirty Dozen” have expressed their disappointment in the decision, noting that they are not behind these choices.

SHIT'S GOOD Shit’s Changed - Callum Turnbull (he/him) But even Rollercoaster Tycoon has nothing on this news cycle. In the space of 48 hours—and the furor of very angry, very loud, English football fans—all six of the English teams who had announced their intention to join the Super League, had promptly announced their intention to withdraw from it. Manchester United’s Executive Vice President, Ed Woodward, resigned, and José Mourinho became the only manager to be sacked in the Super League’s history. Always the outlier.

In the lead up to the English withdrawal, fans protested outside Chelsea FC’s game against Brighton, delaying the match by 15 minutes. It was such a furor that the management of the Club ‘leaked’ their intention to withdraw, so as to quell the fans outside the gates.

Chelsea, Arsenal, and Spurs likely just had FOMO on the

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Columns : SFSG / To be Frank

non-relegation status, and they may receive a tack more sympathy than the leaders of this embarrassing mess— Manchester City and Liverpool.

By the end of the day, the entire League had been “suspended”. Barcelona had only just joined the “supa league” group chat, and it was already a graveyard of thumb reacts.

In my history of watching football, I’ve never seen such solidarity from the code return such a strong message.

The case can now be made for reforms such as ‘50+1’ majority fan ownership, like that of Bayern Munich, to be implemented in the face of this ownership misfire.

Imagine if UEFA kept this same energy for racism.

Frankie Dale (she/her)

Sex and dating advice from Wellington’s rankest, pessimistic, anxious, and most dramatic woman.

Butt Stuff One night long ago, after a horrifically traumatising night on the San Fran balcony (if you know, you know) I went home with a guy who resembled a hot version of Charles Manson. Although I had more sexual chemistry with my foot; we were both game to bone. Whilst I was going down on him my pinky finger accidentally grazed the opening of his butthole. He shot up and smacked my hand away “I’m not into that you sicko!” Even though it was an accident, this reply made me feel such insane second-hand embarrassment for him. Like ew asshole, butt stuff is on the rise—get a grip!

I mean, why wouldn’t it be, right? Lets be honest; butt stuff, anal sex, etc. are things we’ve either tried, wanted to try, or accidentally tried. Hmmm, maybe it’s about time we (boring heteronormative people; I’m looking directly at you Chad, I know you watch step-sibling anal porn) stop considering it embarrassing and something that’s ‘gross’. Let’s at least acknowledge our butts.

In my past experiences there has been a very obvious taboo vibe when it comes to ass play talk in the bedroom. In saying that, I think it’s different when you’ve been in a relationship for a while and you’re both keen to try out something new like anal. I have a friend who swears by anal, she says that it can be very intimate and a “beautiful bonding experience… you just need a fuck ton of lube and a lot of patience”. My experience with anal has been a lot less blissful. I once had a boyfriend who was so obsessed with the possibility of doing it together that a fun cute joke about my ass turned into me genuinely thinking he had been possessed by some kind of butt incubus? We never did it, and I genuinely think that had something to do with our relationship ending.

For me, I can basically tell the second I start talking to a person if they’d eat ass; some tell-tale signs are the type of shoes they are wearing, and the willingness to take the piss out of themselves. To be honest, I really respect a person that will eat ass. All my best sexual buddies have been keen to give a rimmy, which is hot, right? I guess I can’t really talk, though—I’ve given a rimjob once and I can’t say I loved it. What I can say, however, is that it’s not actually gross. And that’s saying a lot, because the guy I gave a rimjob to always used to scratch his butt and smell his fingers after—ha, maybe I’m the one at fault here?

Many, if not most, of my heterosexual male friends will completely deny they have a butthole, let alone any feeling in it. I don’t get this idea that having nerves in your ass makes you less manly? Like no baby, you are less ‘manly’ when you get angry at me for not shaving my pubes and text me about it later saying how much it “bothered you”. Yup. Maybe a rimjob is too hands on—simply a finger, some light touching in the area, or a simple thought in your brain about butts will do the trick. A prostate is an erogonus zone for men and there’s no shame in it whatsoever. In fact—it’s hot. Please remember that partners who aren’t grossed out by bodies are the sexiest partners. Embrace your buttholes by simply acknowledging them for what they are. And, just remember, no shoving anything in dry, take it slow, and listen closely to your partner. Butt stuff can be pleasurable, so let’s just start talking about it.

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Blend - Happy Hour Size:

2 ½ pints

Availability:

5-7 p.m.

If you told me that we would be reviewing a venue called Blend, I would’ve said “well that’s a weird name, I have not heard of that place”.

The location also makes it on the same site as Nomad’s Capital backpackers, whose guests seem to frequent here.

But now I have heard of Blend, and I have sat down for a jug. And I’ll let you know, it was a good jug.

The music is Jackson 5 to George Ezra, and I’ll be damned if I don’t say how bloody good George Ezra is.

I understand that may be a controversial statement, but in the most straightforward way—that bloke makes music that I enjoy. On the other hand, the music was really loud and I couldn’t hear my two mates that well when I was in there. It was a very positive atmosphere nonetheless.

Blend’s motto is “Eat… Drink… Be Merry”—a combination of words that paint a picture of what Christmas is meant to be. Sadly, my uncle always forgets the “Be Merry” part, but definitely goes for the “Eat” and “Drink” part, leading to him being keeled over the toilet bowl because he thought excessive drinking was cool. I like drinking, but drinking so much that the loo smells of Christmas cake is just putrid.

I am far more optimistic about Blend executing these three factors. They’ve got $7 fries, which is good. They have two possibilities for a $10 jug. One is their house tap, which is available whenever Blend is open, but if you come at *happy hour* then you’re in for a treat.

They have Mac’s Gold.

IF YOU COME HERE BETWEEN 5-7 P.M. YOU CAN GET A MAC’S GOLD $10 JUG!!!!

I am not one to delve too deep into getting excited over fancy beer, but Mac’s Gold for that cheap! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a thing. It was pretty gold, and tasted like Export Gold but a bit better. I can definitely taste the hints of citrus, if that’s what they are.

It’s situated at 118/120 Wakefield St, which is a mere amble from the Fowl House (Michael Fowler Centre).

With such proximity, I reckon this is the perfect place to have a $10 jug before anything at the Fowl House, whether that’s to see TEEKS or your mate’s graduation ceremony.

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Columns : $10 Jugs / Flat Chat

They have endless deals at this place, and on a Friday while I was there I even splashed out and purchased a $10 Cosmopolitan because to be honest, I bloody well wanted one. I don’t know how I rated the taste, but can definitely say that them adding glitter into the drink made it very exciting.

When talking to my partner, she said she once spoke to a bloke who worked at Blend, and he said that they’d have loads of people go there who’d just come off of the cruise ships.

With the Trans-Tasman bubble opening, it’s looking like this might be returning back to normal sooner rather than later.

I’m not sure when I’ll be reviewing a $10 jug next, but it will be a sequel to this one where I try their house tap beer. I just got too excited about the happy hour deal this time, and had to have the Mac’s Gold.

Your friendly guide through the trials and tribulations of student living.

Rant about your flatting issues and we’ll find a solution.

By Ash Bestos

Question of the week:

“My flat mates never replace the toilet roll. I’m constantly having to replace it and it’s really starting to piss me off. Sometimes I’ll walk in and see a half-used roll put on top of the toilet because nobody can be bothered to put it on the holder. Any advice on how I get them to replace the roll without being annoying?”

This is a common issue, and one I can personally relate to. I seem to be having the same issue in my flat at the moment, so you are not alone. It’s super annoying when you go to grab some toilet paper, only to be met by the cardboard roll. No one wants to wipe with that.

I hesitate to suggest you start ‘forgetting’ to replace the toilet roll yourself. You’ve already realised people are just going to put the roll on top of the toilet, so obviously that isn’t going to work, and you’re just going to end up annoying yourself.

Forgetting to replace the roll once or twice is fine.

Heck, even I’m guilty of doing that. But purposefully not replacing it is not cool. It just annoys the next person who uses the toilet. So, when it comes to calling someone out, you have every right to be annoying.

It’s time to really get annoying. They’ve been inconveniencing you and thinking it’s okay, but it’s not.

Give them a taste of their own medicine. Inconvenience them for a bit until the issue can be solved.

You can start simply by messaging the flat group chat (assuming you have one) and gently reminding people to replace the toilet roll if they use it up. Some people might argue that it’s not that big of a deal, and it’ll get replaced anyway the next time someone uses the toilet, so why bother? Flip this argument and use their logic against them. If it’s not a big deal, then why not just preemptively replace it? Isn’t that the decent thing to do?

Regarding them placing a roll on top of the toilet, turn what they’ve been considering a free shelf into a cluttered one. Cover the top with canisters of air fresheners and bottles of cleaning supplies. If they still put toilet rolls on top of those, then start moving them further away from the toilet when they appear. You can get more creative with this one. Place them on the shower head, in the fridge, as a centerpiece on the dining room table.

Get the whole stash of toilet paper involved. Move replacements as far away as you can. Hopefully the This may be the point where you discover someone constant reminder of toilet rolls everywhere will remind doesn’t know how to put a new roll on the holder. If this is the case, it may explain why people are putting rolls on your flatmate to replace them, so you don’t always have to. Someone else is bound to get stuck without toilet top of the toilet instead of replacing them. I know some flats have funky holders for loo roll, but they’re usually not paper and get as annoyed as you are about the current situation. If you do this, remember to take an extra roll in that hard to figure out if you just take a few seconds to look at them. If someone doesn’t know how to use it, it’s with you just in case. easy enough to ask. Or you could do a quick video tutorial and see if that helps.

Need a flat disagreement sorted out? Crushing on a flatmate and don’t know what to do about it? Want to know if you’re the asshole? From minor issues to major ones, send a question to flatchat@salient.org.nz

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Michael Turnbull (he/him) VUWSA President Q. How big’s a pie?

A. It doesn’t matter, because VUWSA’s getting sweet F*CK all anyway!

students occupancy charges (read: rent) for campus space used by student services, also taken out of the SSL.

At every sausage sizzle, IGM, or VUWSA event, you’re likely to hear a bereaved student say something akin to:

In 2019, the total VUW Levy was $13,794,000. That is A LOT of pie, so you’d think everyone would get a decent slice. Well, when divvying up plates, the portions aren’t even.

“Can’t believe this is where my student service levy goes” or “I might just take an extra sausage because you took all my student service levy”. And rightfully so! It’s In 2019, VUWSA received $851,675 worth of funding, crucial that students hold those who use their Student roughly 6.2% of the SSL. This funding pays our staff Service Levy (SSL) to account. and exec, runs events and activations, including O-Week, Sex Week and Sustainability Week, and funds After all, this is your money, you (or your parents) our representation bodies such as Student Assembly, worked hard to be able to afford an education in the Class Representatives and Halls Committee. We deliver Coolest Little Capital™. If our rates aren’t going to the advocacy, campaigns and rallies. What a fucking City’s pipes, then at least you should be able to shit easy delicious slice! knowing that the $840 you have put towards student services is benefitting you.

But let’s take a step out of the kitchen. What are other Unis baking up, and how is it served? Using figures from But what actually is your SSL, and why is its usage (and/ 2019, OUSA (Otago University Students’ Association) or abusage) so controversial? The SSL is a fee charged received a whopping 28% of their SSL. Over a quarter to students to make up for the loss accrued by funding of their SSL went directly back into their student union, and running non-academic University services. The SSL allowing OUSA to deliver better funded advocacy, rate is discussed at ACSSL (the Advisory Committee services and events. Given how much VUWSA achieves to the Student Service Levy), which currently has with its measley diet of 6.2%, imagine how much many representatives from both Ngāi Tauira and VUWSA. Any more wins, gigs, and dry sausage sizzles we could have changes recommended by this committee are passed on if funded in a similar fashion to OUSA! to the Vice-Chancellor for approval.

But this begs the question, if we know that VUWSA is The SSL funds everything from VUWSA (the only spending roughly 6.2% of our SSL, then where is organisation most synonymous with the term ‘Student the rest of that tasty pastry going?

Service Levy’), to Student Health, Student Clubs, and the University Recreation Center. VUWi also charges

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Columns : VUWSA / Poetry

have you?

… ever heard what the flower says? …smelled the still water? …touched the hum of your grandma? …seen the aroma of morning coffee? …tasted the surface of frosty marble? have you?

Out of Sight and Other Poems, Mohesh Radhakrishnan, 2021

www.salient.org.nz

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We’ve changed up Salient We’ Podcasts this year, meet the new kids in town: 20Somethings (On Spotify & Apple Music) Welcome to 20Somethings. Let us take you on the magical ride that is your 20s through topics that will touch on the epic woahs, fros and nos. 20Somethings is for those yet to go through it, going through it, and have been there and done that. That’s Salient’s main demographic: 20Somethings. Co-hosted by Jolénna Deo, Tahlia ConradHinga, and Nosiphi Faith Mapukata.

What made you want to start a podcast?

I (Jolénna) had the itch to start a podcast (like every over-opinionated individual ever) but I’m not an expert in anything. After maybe one-too-many glasses of Jacob’s Creek, I thought let’s talk about this crazy time in our lives.

I knew I needed some friends to share the adventure with, and knew there could be no one other than Nosiphi and Tahlia.

Tell me a little bit about yourself Nosiphi (formerly known as Anita): A creative practitioner, with strong roots in live performance. I’m Xosha and Zulu, raised by a single mother in Ōtautahi. Currently on a quest to live my dream, but I’m your biggest fan.

Tahlia: A designer, an illustrator, and a creative extraordinaire (or something like that) from Christchurch, Kai Tahu, and Ngai Te Rangi. Currently just trying to figure out what it means to make things for a living.

Jolénna: A smartass, a short human, and food enthusiast.

I was born in Suva, Fiji, and I’m Fiji Indian, Papua New

Guinean, a Torres Strait Islander, and Australian. I’m a middle child and a Sagittarius, if you can’t tell.

Favorite Podcast/ Podcast Inspiration?

Nosiphi: I really love the podcast How to Fail. It really provided me space to work through my failures and I hope we can do something similar, as in creating space for our listeners to just be.

Tahlia: Currently loving the Autosport F1 - Formula One and Motorsport podcast, because I started watching Drive to Survive on Netflix and now I’m wildly invested in the world of Formula One racing.

Jolenna: love Unpack—such a cool concept for a show unpacking some important shit, made by two cool dudes Thabi and Kii.

SheCess (On Spotify & Apple Music) Kia Ora, and welcome to SheCess—I’m Zola. Join me on my journey of exploring femininity. From the moments of success to the shit parts, from the heartaches to the love stories. I wanna know it all, and I hope you do too.

The podcast follows my journey of exploring femininity through interviewing wonderful women from a range of backgrounds, experiences, opinions, and successes.

SheCess derives from the word success, yet places the female pronoun of she in front of it. It also sounds like “she says”! Hosted by Zola Prendeville.

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Podcasts : Whats new!

What made you want to start a podcast?

I think we’re all looking for ways in which we can be heard. Podcasts offer a platform for voices to be listened to, which allows not only a space for education, but also greater insight. I really do believe that providing a platform where women are able to share their stories, insights, and opinions is needed in a time where the world seems to have flipped upside down.

Tell me a little bit about yourself My name is Zola Prendeville. I am originally from the West Coast in Auckland, but in 2019 I came to Wellington to study Marketing, International Business, and Innovation.

I’m loving creating SheCess, and am hoping that others will enjoy listening to the interviews with the incredible women who have been so generous in sharing their stories with me.

Favorite Podcast/Podcast Inspiration?

My favorite so far would have to be Rabbit Hole by The New York Times, and Canary by Washington Post. I find the format of these podcasts really inspiring, and would love at some point to record episodes following a documentary format as opposed to an interview style.

& What Not Radio (A new music show coming soon to MixCloud) Hi, I’m Lola and Welcome to What Not. Join a Wellington local for some chilled-out chats about current music, art, films, & What Not. Tune in each week to hear some tunes plus me chatting away, or spouting some random stories or discoveries I’ve made during my life here.

Tell me a little bit about your show & What Not is a show that focuses on art, music, film, and cool people I know. It’s what and who I love, which is why I want to talk about it!

What made you want to start a podcast?

Radio shows and podcasts are creative outlets that I’ve always had a bit of interest in, and I think that I have some interesting things to say sometimes. So I thought I oughta give it a go.

Tell me a little bit about yourself I’m 21, and I have a huge passion for Wellington. I like to make art, skate, and (attempt to) surf. I especially love when I get to do these things with my friends.

Favourite Podcast/ Podcast Inspiration?

Off Menu by James Acaster and Ed Gamble makes me laugh out loud on the bus, and I love a BBC Moral Maze episode when I’m in the mood for a good ol’ philosophical debate.

Go on, Mate (On Spotify & Apple Music) Kiwi blokes hate talking about their feelings. We want to change that. G’day! We’re Go on, Mate, a podcast that aims to normalise us men talking about how we are feeling.

We’re here to talk about more than just cricket and our favorite beers. We are here to try to make a difference and show that it’s okay to not be okay. Hosted by Jack Walker and Sam Bell, the show bridges the gap between lads’ chat and mental health awareness. We interview people that we find interesting, and through the episodes we try to shed a light on this very important cause.

www.salient.org.nz

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Why did you start the show?

Jack: “71 percent of men in Aotearoa think that they are ‘man enough’ to work through their challenges on their own, and over half don’t like to talk about and share their feelings.”–Movember. After working in halls, and seeing the effects of poor mental health on young men in New Zealand in two all-boys schools, Sam and I dreamt up the idea for Go on, Mate—a show that encourages men to start talking by showing that some of New Zealand’s most prominent figures are okay with sharing their emotions, and that it is okay for us to share them, too.

Sam: Jack had a shower thought and got on the phone with me almost immediately after. I’m a big advocate for mental health, so when I heard about his idea I was hooked immediately.

Tell us about yourself Jack: Middle child, only boy. Architecture student (yawn).

Proud Crusaders fan. I like making cool shit, the odd round of golf or game of tennis, and getting outside when I can.

Sam: Oddly enough for someone who runs a podcast, I hate answering this question! I love pineapple on pizza, I’m not afraid to talk your ear off about music, and most importantly I’m not afraid to have a good ol’ cry when it’s needed.

Favourite Podcast / Podcast Inspiration?

Jack: Whoop Podcast, Armchair Expert, and Trained by Nike—Major performance psychology nerd.

Sam: Brunch (hosted by DJ Bean and Pete Blackburn).

Zeitgeist (Coming soon to Spotify & Apple Music) Zeitgeist is about how it feels to be a young person today who is often disillusioned, but also hopeful that things will get better. We get through every day by keeping our scope small, but if you take a step back there’s a lot of fucked up shit. Things like choosing eggs or voting are never as simple as they seem. So Zeitgeist is about unpacking what the world is, looking at what it could be, and, if we can’t change anything, how do we cope with that? Hosted by Jessica Ye and Kate Schellekens.

What made you want to start a podcast?

Podcasting is a way to connect with a lot of people, and ultimately form solidarity. It’s a lot easier to cope with how you feel when you know other people feel the same way, even if none of us have any satisfying solutions (yet).

you can find us both playing the piano, or find Jess in the kitchen (where she belongs) and Kate breeding virtual horses.

Tell me a little bit about yourself We became friends by bonding over how we would write a book about a new world order lol, but we thought a podcast was much more achievable. Now, we are two chronic overthinkers in our second year, who are our own worst enemies. When we’re not arguing about politics,

Favourite Podcast/ Podcast Inspiration?

Our inspiration was genuinely just the experience of being university students and becoming disillusioned by anything and everything. But as for podcast inspo, we love doco-style podcasts like The Missionary by Rajiv Golla, Halima Gikandi, and Malcolm Burnley.

Salient FM Playlist #1 Introducing The New Shows

If you wanna learn more about the shows and their hosts, check out @salient.fm on Instagram.

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Podcasts : Whats new! / Which pie are you?

www.salient.org.nz

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You’re a New Zealand classic. It’s even been said that you are your parents’ favourite. You hold yourself together quite well and thrive in every environment. People can sometimes expect too much from you, but that doesn’t matter. You just need to stay true to you, and not be worried about what those people think—they’re elitists who don’t understand you.

You’re a bit of a sweetie, and when you feel like it you’re super hot. You like to stay cosy in this harsh Wellington climate and huddle round the heater with your friends. You love all things nostalgia, and are not afraid to talk about your feelings. Sometimes you can be a bit too saccharin, so just remember you’ll never be everyone’s cup of tea—stay true to yourself.

Mostly B’s: Irvine’s Steak and Cheese Pie

Mostly A’s: Maccas Apple Pie

Mostly C’s: Courtenay Place Bakery Potato Top Pie Mostly D’s: Misc Vegetarian Pie You’re one of the best things to happen to Wellington, and nobody can say otherwise. You’re a fun night on the town, and a companion while waiting for the 21 bus to Uni—the perfect balance of business (mince) and fun (potato). The only problem with you is that you smell really good, but that might be a bit too much in some situations.

People shouldn’t underestimate you. You pack a lot of punch. It’s not really clear from the outside who you are on the inside—until people get to know you better. You feel a type of way about animals and the environment, and it shows in your life choices. On a bad day your sense of humour can be a bit dry, on a good day it’s full of nuance.

What is your dream car?

Favourite local sports team

A) Mazda Demio B) Toyota Hilux C) Ford Falcon D) Bicycle

A) Pulse (Netball) B) Saints (Basketball) C) Hurricanes (Rugby) D) Phoenix (Football)

A) Friend’s house B) Lambton Quay pub C) Somewhere on Courtenay Place with a balcony D) Grunge bar on Cuba St

Where would you like to go for a drink this weekend?

A) Riding solo B) Your boo C) Your mate who’s always up for a movie D) Your aunty who’s visiting

You’re going to see a cool movie, like Girls Can’t Surf, this weekend—who are you going with?

A) Coffee B) Golden Circle C) Chocolate Milk D) Kombucha

What drink would you have with a pie?

A) Snapchat B) Facebook C) Instagram D) Twitter

What’s your top social media platform?

Which Pie Are You?

with TimProvise

By Matthew Casey (he/him) Images by William Slingsby @sliwill

Pies and New Zealand go together like Steak and Cheese.

I do not care for ‘heritage buildings’ which are just creaky old buildings that produce mould faster than Roadrunner.

The only heritage buildings I care for are those which house our bakeries, our culinary powerhouses. Everyone believes their local is the best—but one legend, a bakery connoisseur who goes under the name TimProvise, is taking on the task of really showing love to the bakeries of New Zealand.

This week, I’ve been fortunate enough to talk to one of New Zealand’s best content creators who hails from Clendon, 267. TimProvise is the host of The Provise Project Photo: Above, Tim and Joseph Parker podcast, ½ of The Shack, and perhaps most importantly, Bakery Run. Bakery Run is an online show which sees Tim and guests check out some of New Zealand’s most talked about bakeries, and see if they’re up to scratch.

Bakeries across the nation serve a glorious array of breads, sweets, and treats. Some bakeries are famous for their “It’s just a raw cut of the bro, eating a pie and talking about donuts, their service, and/or their location. It is simply it [...] it’s not plastic, it’s just how I am normally. I bring imperative to rate a bakery on their pies, because—as guests on, a mixture of celebrities and a bro from the hood, Booma Tha God from SWIDT says—“The bakery is not from Clendon, coming together to eat a pie, talk about that about the bread, it’s about the bloody pie bro.” pie and what they’ve been up to […] It’s the hood Oprah, with some food.” Bakery Run guests ranging from world Bakery Run always starts with eating a steak and cheese champion boxer Joseph Parker through to New Zealand pie because, “if you don’t have a good steak and cheese at infomercial queen Suzanne Paul. your bakery, the rest of your stuff is not going to be good.

That should be your staple, that’s your go to [...] If you do He does it all with William Slingsby, Bakery Run’s producer/ a census of New Zealand, ask ‘what is your favourite pie?’, editor/director. “This whole thing wouldn’t work if it wasn’t I will bet my life savings that it will come out as steak and for Will. I tell him this all the time but he tells me to shut cheese.” up. He is, legit, the guy that does everything.” Tim credits Will for carrying the team. Will runs his own production In the 2020 Canstar survey, steak and cheese was ranked company Off The Ground, which Bakery Run is produced as New Zealand’s second favourite, very closely behind under. mince and cheese, which still highlights New Zealand’s love for these flavours. I have never been into cheese in my He uses an important ranking system, which originally pie, but over 40% of New Zealanders like it more than any was rating each pie out of 5, but has evolved into a more other way. comprehensive /10 rating.

The origins of Bakery Run stem from when Tim was a When reviewing pies, he looks at elements such as the Twitch streamer. He would have “full on, verbal arguments flakiness of the pastry, and how many bites it takes to get with people that would dispute that Clendon was the best to the steak. bakery in New Zealand. Because I grew up with Clendon, that’s my jam”.

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Culture : Bakery Run

Photos: Tim and...

Left, Torrell Tafa.

Mid, Athena Angelou Right, Broxh

Tim speaks very highly of the owner of Clendon Park Bakery, Mihn—“I was his soldier, and I would go at people online who would say otherwise”. Clendon Park is a notoriously claimed bakery. Back when I was very much into my pies, it always came highly recommended. When talking to my friend Joseph, he claimed it was the “Best bakery in AKL + the dude there is an absolute legend” highlighting how much Mihn has done to hold his space in New Zealand folklore. “Here’s the thing with Clendon, it’s good for the price you get it at—it’s a good budget pie.”

This show is for the people. Tim’s thoughts on people sending through suggestions is: “Sometimes you get good ones and sometimes you get bad ones, but the ones that really stick out to you. You think back and you go ‘that’s right, that person has told me about that place and now I respect his preferences [...] But then there’s some people, bro, and I’m like ‘fuck off, that is the worst.’”

Photo: Above, Tim and Joe Daymond

“if you don’t have a good steak and cheese at your bakery, the rest of your stuff is not going to be good.

-TimProvise

How much does the drink matter when eating a pie? “It matters more then anybody knows [...] you have to get a drink, because when you finish the pie all of a sudden you’re like ‘fuck, I wish I wouldve gotten a drink ay’—so you always need to get on the cautionary tale.” “The go to [...] is the Golden Circle range, it’s probably the best you could go for—I say that because it’s cheap, it’s easy, it tastes good.

A Golden Pash or a Tropical Punch, bro they hold true. If you’re a chocolate milk connoisseur, you can’t go wrong with the Nippys”.

Outside of his creative pursuits, Tim is a teacher. During the day he is an intermediate teacher, and in the afternoon he teaches computer skills to older people. “I have a very busy schedule, but I find time to do all these pursuits because I love them.” I’ve seen this man hustle, and there is no doubt in the passion he brings to the table. To balance such a hectic schedule is something that is unimaginable, but Tim does it to a high standard.

TimProvise is undeniably a future hall of famer with the content he’s putting forward. Make sure you check out new episodes of Bakery Run out on Mondays fortnightly on the Off The Ground NZ YouTube channel. www.salient.org.nz

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Crossword: Themeless (What Did You Expect?)

A challenging creation from Puck - good luck!

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ACROSS

DOWN

1. Place to protect your swine when it isn’t fine (3,4) 5. Composer of ‘The Four Seasons’ (7) 9. With 18-Across, “That’s what you get for fucking around” (4,6,5,3,6,6) 10. It might end in a French cuff (11) 11. Keanu’s role in ‘The Matrix’ (3) 12. British city where Simple Minds, Franz Ferdinand, Mogwai and Chvrches were all formed (7) 13. Iglesias who sang ‘Hero’ (7) 15. Native bird with a song described as including ‘coughs, grunts and wheezes’ (3) 16. Slideshow of recent images you uploaded, say (5,6) 18. See 9-Across 19. More likely to fill awkward silences... or any silences, full stop (7) 20. Five-star holiday destinations (7)

1. Mario often travels through them (5) 2. Word used in physics before ‘pull’, ‘well’ or ‘redshift’ (13) 3. Feature of many Twitter trends (7) 4. Burger King item with twice the meat (6,7) 5. Common app that you can use to play back your thoughts (5,8) 6. Madonna hit that begins “Strike a pose” (5) 7. It gets sour drops into your cocktail (5,8) 8. Available for brick-and-mortar purchase (2,5) 12. Is caught up in a sudden downpour, say (4,3) 14. Tax filings; comes back (7) 16. Name on a cultural dish you shouldn’t eat? (5) 17. Erato, Calliope, and their seven sisters (5)

Puzzles

Skuxdoku

Word of the Week

“money” Te Reo Māori moni New Zealand Sign language

Last Weeks Answers

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D Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Money is tight. So, instead of ordering food again or buying a new shirt, be inventive! Dig out that cookbook your Grandma got you when you moved out of home and make something with the food in your pantry, or find a TikTok on how to successfully turn an old t-shirt into something fire. Also, don’t wear yellow this week—just trust me.

You’re feeling inspired this week.

This energy means you are able to connect with others as well as yourself on a deeper level. The spirit guides are telling me this also means it’s the right time to get a tattoo, even if it’s just trying out a temporary one from the $2 shop and seeing how you feel.

Break out the tarot this week, it’s time to get spiritual. If you’re feeling lonely, maybe try thinking about why alone time is valuable. I’m seeing that you’re going to have a dream this week (possibly featuring a lizard) which will help figure it out.

And check your gym bag before you leave the house, you’re likely to forget your keys.

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Okay so usually when a relative tells you they want to set you up on a blind date it’s a bad idea, but not this week. Expand your mind and be spontaneous. If you take the chance, you’re opening the doors to new friends, possible hookups, and potential partners. Get yourself a $10 jug and celebrate the new experiences coming your way.

Ignore that grade you got on your last assignment, I’m proud of you for doing your best. This week I see pies in your future; I don’t know if you’re buying lunch, baking apple pie, or playing Trivial Pursuit, but someone is jealous of you—this would be a good time to communicate and see what’s really wrong. And call your uncle back.

It’s time to get organised! If you have nothing due in the next two weeks, this is a sign that you need to get back into your hobbies. Pay attention to the way you’re speaking to yourself—you don’t need to be so harsh, you’ve done all you can. “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an Amen up in here!”

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Take a risk this week! I’m thinking something to do with your skills—I think you have the potential to go far if you put yourself out there. For example, if you’re into design, ask your favourite coffee place if you can help them out designing Instagram content or something. Or maybe just start your own page sharing your best munchies creations and the recipes.

Make sure you’re checking in with others and communicating this week!

You have a tendency to lean into your sign and become a Scorpion sometimes, so remember to stop and breathe before you sting. If you’re feeling too irritable on Friday, stay home with your partner and skip going out, chances are your bad juju will get you banned from a club.

Are you Peter Parker? Because your spidey senses are tingling, and they’re probably right! If you have a gut feeling about something, trust that inkingling, and try drinking Kombucha for any related gut problems in the future. Also, make sure to read over twice any contract you’re given in the next three weeks.

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

Opportunities are coming your way— just keep busy, keep budgeting, and they’ll catch up to you! It looks like you want to try the new Pineapple Lump Ice Cream; this could go one of two ways, so if you’re prepared for it to ruin Pineapple Lumps for you, give it a try. And, this is a good time to hit up your friends from high school—you might be surprised with how it goes.

If your friends are complimenting you this week, believe them and enjoy the praise!! If you’re looking for a new flat, flatmate, or trying to get a new fridge from your landlord—the stars are looking out for you this week! Also you’re killing it at work, expect a promotion or at least to make a new work friend.

You might be feeling a little off this week, but that’s okay, I promise it’s just in your head—you have everything you need right now! That time you wrote a positive affirmation in the Uni bathrooms helped someone out, and good karma is on it’s way. Just don’t buy NFTs or another subscription for that matter, not worth!

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Horoscopes

The Team Editors

Sally Ward & Matthew Casey editor@salient.org.nz

Design & Illustration Padraig Simpson designer@salient.org.nz

Sub Editor Jamie Clarke

News Editor

Kane Bassett news@salient.org.nz

Chief Reporter Niva Chittock

Staff Writers

Feature Writers

Johnny O’Hagan Brebner Eden Roberts

Contributors

James Holt Callum Turnbull Frankie Dale Nakisa Wilson Michael Turnbull Mohesh Radhakrishnan Francesa Georgia Pietkiewicz Puck

Cover Photography Brittany Harrison @shuttabutter

Janhavi Gosavi Ronia Ibrahim Lachlan Ewing

Social Media & Web Manager Brittany Harrison

Podcast Manager

Francesa Georgia Pietkiewicz podcasts@salient.org

Centerfold

Find Us

fb.com/salientmagazine IG @salientgram Twitter @salientmagazine www.salient.org.nz

Hannah Mahon

www.salient.org.nz www.salient.org.nz

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What matters most for our city?

Reduce emissions

Reduce waste

SLUDGE

Cycle networks

Have your say on Wellington’s 10-Year Plan, visit wgtn.cc/ltp 6 April—10 May To mātou mahere ngahuru tau Our 10-Year Plan 40

Central Library

Fix our pipes