Eighth Edition |2018

THE VOICE

Robert Menzies College

Eighth Edition In this week’s edition...

Vivid Block Events Leavers Supper Tips for studying during exam period!

Reconciliation Dinner

Editors Jennifer Good & Zoe Walters

June 2018

Contents Reconciliation Dinner ......................

Pg. 2

Vivid Block Events ............................ Pg. 4 Leavers Supper ................................ Pg. 8

A-Block Pizza Night ......................... Pg. 10 Exam Supper ...................................

Study Tips .......................................

Pg. 11 Pg. 12

State of Origin ................................. Pg. 14 Study Schedule Planning .................. Pg. 16 Calendar .........................................

Humans of RMC ..............................

Pg. 17 Pg. 18

Quiz ................................................ Pg. 22 Wiretap ..........................................

Pg. 24

SURVIVING THE EXAM PERIOD For a lot of you this is your first ever exam period and you’re probably feeling very overwhelmed and exhausted.

Please just try and remember that this isn’t the end of the world and that this isn’t the most important thing in your life. Make sure to keep taking care of yourself and make sure you’re at least getting some sleep and aren’t just surviving off snacks! It’s important to keep healthy and keep taking care of yourself while you study!

ZOe and jen

Reconciliation Dinner Reconciliation dinner is a permanent

event held at college annually during Reconciliation Week which seeks to pay respect to the Aboriginal

community and learn about ways

in which society can improve in our

understanding and attitudes towards Indigenous culture.

Our guest speaker Emily Sutton spoke about the ways in which

we can work towards being more respectful and how we can get involved with Walanga Muru,

Macquarie University’s Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander student

engagement and strategy office. A

powerful speech was also given by Tae Elvin (a snippit of the speech

is featured on the righthand page), who spoke about current political and societal issues in regards to reconciliation.

If you’re concerned or just feel like you may need further education

about these issues make sure to

contact the student team at Walanga Muru, they would be happy to help answer questions.

The ‘R’ Word I would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and Elders of the land on which we meet today, the Wattamattagal people of the

Darug nation, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples here today.

1. What is Reconciliation?

We are all here for a very special day. A day that signifies the remembrance of

past atrocities against countless Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Firstly, I ask all of you now, why are you here? This is a compulsory event for

RMC residents in their first 12 months here. Are you here for the food? Are you here to support your Indigenous peers? Are you here to learn more about what you can do to further the cause of reconciliation?

Secondly, how many of us know what reconciliation means for Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander people? Most would pull a definition from the dictionary,

“[…]”. Others may have gained their understanding from the biblical texts, “[…]”.

However, it is my belief that this type of reconciliation will never be achieved for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian society.

2. Australia’s current attempts at ‘symbolic’ reconciliation

Examples of previous attempts of reconciliation include Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech; John Howard’s address in 2000 and Kevin Rudd’s National Apology to

the Indigenous Australians. However, these all failed to acknowledge genocidal history of Australia, merely dismissing it as a ‘blemish’ in Australian History.

These were not practical actions and did not improve the systematic racist

ideology embedded into Australia’s institutional systems and societal structure.

3. Is it reconciliation or just racism?

Whose attitudes are we actually trying to change with ‘reconciliation’? Building positive relationships and trust? Or is reconciliation just a Band-Aid to cover

racism? These are some of the important issues we need to be thinking about as a society, particularly on a day like today.

- Tae Elvin

VIVID BLOCK EVENTS Vivid is an annual light show that takes place in Sydney over a few

weeks. It has beautiful displays all

along the harbour and in the Botanic Gardens. This year almost all of

college ventured out to observe the beautiful displays. We have

managed to gather all of the group photos of our RMC residents out

seeing the lights and even got some pictures of the lights if you weren’t able to make it out to see them.

Everyone had a great

night filled with food,

fun and entertainment.

If you didn’t get a

chance to go then there is bound to be some residents who will

venture out there again with you!

C-BLOCK

B-BLOCK

A-BLOCK

E-BLOCK

Leavers supper

Saying goodbye to some of our favourite college students is always hard, whether they are residents who are finishing up their degrees or international students who are going home at the end of semester - we will miss them all.

The supper was filled with custard tarts, chocolate cake, vanilla slice and hot chocolate and gave everyone a chance to remember back to their favourite memories of RMC. Presented with beautiful plaques and certificates to commemorate their time at college, the residents danced, ate and chatted the night away and celebrated the fun they’ve had at college.

Last Saturday night (the end of week 13) Nicole and I found ourselves sitting in the top A common room with 9 boxes of pizza.

We were expecting a storm. A horde of hungry residents that had been promised the delicious baked goods known to us as “Pizza” were bound to be on their way. We knew it would be tough, monitoring pizza consumption and juggling the busy work of handing out named study packs was sure to be a challenge. But Nicole and I knew it was our Katrina-given duty to continue.

A-BLOCK PIZZA NIGHT

Over the course of the next 2 hours, residents filtered in and out of the small room next to the stairs. Each grabbed a few slices of pizza and a study pack complete with a pen, some lollies, and some words of encouragement.

These hours were filled with some laughs, but mostly stressed flavored conversations about the exams that were looming above everyone’s head.

Overall it was a good night that I think reduced a lot of stress, and a great way to end the first semester of the year for A block.

- Jake (A-Block RA)

COLLEGE FIRE PIT NIGHT Warming their hands around the fire, residents from all college blocks enjoyed some casual conversation around the fire pit. As usual many many marshmallows were toasted over the fire and Julian was taking his typical aesthetic photos of the fire (as you can see to the right). The night was relaxing and is always a popular way to procrastinate the night away!

DONUT EXAM SUPPER

And shoutout to Amy and Mark who smiled for the candid photo of the exam supper!

As the first of the exam suppers commenced on Monday night, huge numbers of residents rushed to the common room as they found out that donuts would be the snack of choice. Boxes and boxes of donuts lined the coffee tables and were descended upon by the hungry and stressed students. Although there was a huge number of donuts, they disappeared before you could say ‘exam stress’.

For anyone who missed out, make sure to head down to the common room at 9pm on everynight (except Saturday) to enjoy some yummy exam supper!

Transfer to an Arts Degree so you don’t gotta do anything - Pat M Remember to break down big tasks into smaller tasks to make it more managable

Here are some of the tips and study tricks form the residents at college. Not sure if you will want to trust all of them, but if you’re desperate then here they are! We’ve also added in some of our study tips too!

Make triple shots of espresso your new best friend!

- Jake B

Have plenty of study snacks hehehehehehe ...... (and then be prepared to work it off after exams RIP) - Nicole C

Put chocolate at random lines on the page you’re writing on and when you get to that line you can eat it!

- Anna F

Le snak Learn to - Mitch S take breaks at set times. The Pomodoro technique is to study for 25min and then break for 5min

tips for studying during the exam period

Breathe, eat, sleep and shower

Change up your study environment by getting out of your room and studying at the library, at a cafe, outside or in the study rooms at college

Remember to be cautious of other people and don’t make too much noise late at night or in the study rooms

Avoid your main procrastination methods

Take the time to know your enemies - Tim M

Try and get into a good sleep cycle, staying up all night will only make you feel worse!

Make a study schedule and try to stick to it

Maybe try some different study methods if you are having trouble with your studies

Try and remember that exams aren’t the end of the world and that you will get through it in the end

State of Origin Game 1

Gathered in the common room on the Wednesday the 6th June the residents of RMC prepared for one of the great Australian sporting faceoffs of the year - the NSW vs. QLD State of Origin. Squashed onto the rows of couches and enjoying the chocolate and snacks the residents settled down for an intense round 1 game surrounded by a combination of red and blue balloons and streamers.

Ready to cheer on their teams the game had an intense start, with the maroon player Valentine Holmes making an impressive intercept and running the length of the field to score - upsetting many of the blues supporting residents. At the end of the first half the blues were leading the game with a score of 8-6.

Coming into the second half of the game the replay camera had to be consulted multiple times as the referee struggled to make determinate calls on some of the maroon and blues tries. Although QLD start the second half strong the blues continue their dominance and manage to stay ahead making numerous tries and the tension builds amongst the common room as the end of the game nears.

In the last seconds of the game there is relief around the common room as the NSW supporters realise they have claimed the first game of the State of Origin for 2018 with a final score of 22-12.

Now we’ll just have to see how NSW holds up in the second and third games to see if they can win for the first time since 2014. However, QLD have proven time and time again that they know how to dominate the field so it’s still any mans game.

study schedule Planning Creating a study schedule is one of the best things we recommend you do to organise yourself for the exam period (and it also helps you procrastinate a little longer by getting organised).

It’s best to set out a study schedule across the days you have before the exam while making sure that what you are dedicating to each day is a managable amount and includes breaks for food (all three meals plus exam supper) and possibly the gym (or a nap!). Dedicating time slots for each task is also a great idea, often a stricter schedule can be more effective in motivation and eliminating procrastination.

Make sure to give yourself some kind of reward for studying too, it’s a good motivator to get some actual work done. Something like taking a food break or watching a short YouTube video may be good - although be careful to not fall into the deep hole that is YouTube.

We also reccommend ripping out this page and use the study schedule layout to attempt your own schedule! Good luck with your exams!

Oh and don’t let the memes fool you, do some damn study!

RIP OUT THIS PAGE TO USE THE STUDY SCHEDULE ON THE OTHER SIDE

Time:

Time:

Time:

Time:

Reward:

The Voice Edition 8

End of Semester Break !!!!!!!!!!!!!

humans of RMC

much more entertaining though (sorry fellow Coffs kids).

What do you study? And what is your favourite part of your degree?

I’m doing a Bachelor of Social

Science, majoring in Anthropology.

My favourite part so far has been

being exposed to different cultures across the world that I normally

Human #13 Anna fry What is your favourite memory of RMC so far?

Oh no there’s so many to choose from! I will have to say doing

the fresher dance at U Bar and

absolutely destroying DLC was

pretty satisfying. Both the Laurens

did an amazing job with the dance, I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life tbh.

Where are you from? Does it differ a lot to Sydney/ Australia?

I am from Coffs Harbour, which is

a coastal town on the North Coast of NSW. I’m definitely missing

the warmer weather and how easy it is to get to the beach from my house! The people here are so

wouldn’t ever think about, it’s interesting to see how other

people view the world. My degree allows me to do field work with

different societal groups which I

absolutely love, and hopefully I’ll

get the chance to do ethnographic

work overseas at some point in the future!

What other event would you like to see

What’s an interesting fact about you?

happen at college this year? And what has been your favourite event so far?

A lip sync battle would be so much fun!

I could definitely see everyone getting

up and getting into it. And my favourite event so far was Scav Hunt in O Week,

team Rainbow Nation may not have won the competition but we won the hearts of the people, that’s a win in my eyes!

I also enjoyed all of Arts Week, I never

thought I would have the courage to recite

Shakespeare in front of a group but it paid off!

Depends what you would call interesting really. Some would find me performing at the Opera House seven times pretty

interesting, but I prefer the fact that I can

blow bubbles off my tongue from spit. Yes I know it’s gross but I bet you can’t (not a money bet though bc I’m broke).

(after gapping). I absolutely love Sydney so I’m very glad that I stayed here!

What do you study? And what is your favourite part of your degree?

I study a Bachelor of Marketing & Media which I absolutely love. My favourite

part of my degree would have to be the subjects where we have the chance to

focus on the practical implementation of Marketing and its day to day application

instead of all the theory. This semester I

Human #14 Lauren Coppel

also took a coding elective which I LOVED and probably has to be my favourite subject/part of my degree so far.

What is your favourite memory of RMC so far?

My favourite RMC memory would have to be some of the late night ‘study’ room sessions from last semester. Mostly

because of the range of study snacks

we had every night but also because of the many hilarious moments with the

exchangers, Caitlin Gabriel’s constant

ability to procrastinate and of course many high school musical sing-alongs!

Where are you from? Does it differ a lot to Sydney/ Australia?

What has been your favourite part about

I actually grew up in Sydney in Killara (15

rep?

since I was 2. When I finished high school

My favourite part about being on the Exec

to Singapore and so I moved into college

with the Fresher Dance. The choreography

mins away from here) and have lived there my parents and my younger brother moved

being on the Exec and being the Social

would definitely have been anything to do

sessions, while sometimes frustrating were

venue (not biased I swear) with all your

sexually crawling on the ground) and then

glam too which is always cool to see and

hilarious (especially when it featured Tami obviously teaching it to the freshers was

so fun! My fave part about Social rep would be organising the events themselves as I

love event planning so I’ve really enjoyed

my whole job. I also love it because seeing

best pals. Everyone is dressed up pretty

overall it’s just an enjoyable night. Lots of people always say Ball is their highlight of

the year (no pressure right??) so I definitely think it’s one you don’t want to miss!!

people have fun at your events is super

What’s an interesting fact about you?

all worth it.

Since I was 5 I have always wanted to be

rewarding too which makes the planning

a spy (cue the eye-roll) but I’ve actually

always thought being a spy would be super cool. I could probably get away with it

because I have 4 passports (thats 2 facts for the price of 1) however I would never last because I can’t keep my mouth shut for too long...

Have you enjoyed organising Ball this year? What would you say to someone who isn’t sure whether they should go?

So far I have loved organising Ball! Whilst

it’s a little bit stressful and my ‘to-do’ list magically keeps growing every day, it’s really cool to see the vision in my head

slowly come to life. For those who aren’t sure if it is worth going I definitely think it is (not just because it’s my event) but

because it’s a lovely night where you get

to have a beautiful dinner at a spectacular

Don’t forget! If you want to be a Human

of RMC all you have to do is contact one

of the editors and we’ll happily send you

the questions and feature you in our next issue!

START HERE It’s Friday night, are you staying in or are you heading to the city to have some fun?

It’s It’sFriday Fridaynight, night,are areyou youstaying stayingininororare areyou youheading headingtotothe thecity citytotohave havesome somefun? fun?

Heading out Heading Heading out out

Staying in Staying Stayinginin

Are you someone who is consistently out and about around college or do you prefer to stay in your room?

Are you who isisconsistently out Are yousomeone someone who consistently outand andabout about

On a night out do you go hard straight away ordo do On out you Onaanight night out do yougo go you pace yourself? hard straight away hard straight awayorordo do you youpace paceyourself? yourself?

around aroundcollege collegeorordo doyou youprefer prefertotostay stayininyour yourroom? room?

In your room

Out and About

InInyour yourroom room

On dates do you like to go for long walks or out to dinner?

On Ondates datesdo doyou youlike liketotogo gofor for What would you rather your super power be, long walks or out long walks or outtotodinner? dinner? superWhat speedwould or flying? rather your super power be, What wouldyou you rather your super power be, super superspeed speedororflying? flying?

Quick, pick a colour!

Quick, Quick,pick pickaacolour! colour!

Dinner

Walks

Red Red Red

Digby Digby Digby

Go hard or go homeGo hard or go Go hard or go home home

Out Outand andAbout About

Dinner Dinner

Walks Walks

Green

Super speed

Green Green

Sable Sable Sable

Super Superspeed speed

Bear

Sable Bear Bear

Sable Sable

Bear Bear Bear

THE VOICE

QUIZ #1

5

If you got Digby... you’re not at every event but when you are present, you are the life of the party!

RESULTS: 5

If you got Bear… you are certainly a If you got Digby... crazy you’reone notbut at every everyone loves having event but when you are present, you around! you are the life of the party!

DIGBY

If you got Sable… you love to be social If you got Bear… you a but are alsocertainly enjoy having time to yourself! crazy one but everyone loves having you around!

BEAR

If you got Sable… you love to be social but also enjoy having time to yourself!

SABLE

Pace yourself

lf

Do beach holiday holidayor orcamping? camping Do you you prefer prefer aa beach

Do you prefer a beach holiday or camping?

Camping

Flying

Camping Digby

Beach Sable

Bear

Beach

Bear

may 24 - June 11 Hannah: “Look how big Antarctica is!

It must have a zoo!”

Brian: “Who sings this?”

Bell: “Michael Jackson. It must be his new album...Oh wait...”

Zoe S: “I am the definition of PG”

Lauren C: “It never goes in the hole when I want it to!”

Tami: “If it’s white and jiggly don’t trust it” Dan: “Is that life advice or food advice?”

Tyla: “It wasn’t moist enough”

Matt C: “People with symmetrical faces are naturally more attractive, that’s why Disney princesses are so hot!”

Sarah: “This is why I go to bodybalance - so that one day I can turn the page over in my textbook with my toe”

Cindy *talking about The Kissing Booth*: “The actor is hot but his acting was not”

Matt D: “When I was 7 I still thought girls had dicks”

Emily S: “How many standards are in a shot?”

Sam D: “I’ll tell you all how Uber works right now: app open, PIN in, boom, magic Indian!”

Amy J *staring at Dan after he flailed around like a salmon*: “Wow, that is a man right there”

Sarah *talking about an obstacle course* : “Back then I’d come straight off the farm so if I can lift a sheep I can lift myself”

Grace A: “Wow, look how many lectures I haven’t watched...”

Michael T: “I just want to be an unethical chinese business man”

Em S: “I’m trying to be healthy, and the watermelon is good, but the chocolate cake is better!”

THE Wiretap After the last edition of the Voice came out we began to notice pictures of Tom had been torn out and put into the serviette boxes. Well now you can tear out this and put a picture of Tom’s face inside the serviette box into the serviette box! #servietteinception

Share your voice!

Are you a creative soul and want to contribute to The Voice?

Send through your work as a message to our Facebook page or submit it annonymously to one of the editors!

Any contributions are

accepted - drawings, poems, stories, articles etc. And don’t forget any to send in any funny submissions to the Wiretap.

If you want to be featured in the Humans of RMC section, let us know and we will interview you!

Or feel free to talk to one of the editors Zoe Walters (A207) or

Jen Good (A203)