Issuu

Editors:

Jonathan Howles & Annaliese Collins

Cover Art:

Hayley Rogers

Letter from the

2020 was not the year we thought it would be. Like Y2K, 2020 has come and gone like a breath of wind on a winter’s morning. Coming up with what to say at the end of this year is hard, because we really didn’t know what to expect when we were handed over the reins to The Voice. We didn’t expect all that we would have to learn about designing a magazine, the late nights we would have to spend, and the pandering we would have to do to get residents to write for us. Yet, at the conclusion of this year, all we can say is thank you. Thank you for the amazing opportunity to be your voice, the opportunity to get to know you better, and the opportunity to explore what makes RMC so unique.

We have a few special mentions we would like to make. Leila and Lucy, for leaving us with a great platform on which to build. Elisa, for being an amazing printer wizard. Clare and Hayley, for their phenomenal cover art. And finally, J. Jonah Jameson… I mean Sam.

We hope you have enjoyed reading The Voice this year, and we wish the 2021 editors all the best!

Jono + Annaliese

Annual general meeting

Another year, another AGM. Congratulations to Georgia and the Exec for running an election far smoother than the one we have witnessed in the US. All the best to our new Exec members!

Executive Team 2021

President

Sports

Rep

Vice President

Social

Rep

Secretary

CCM Rep

SVF Rep

D.E Rep

Treasurer

Ball 2020

Valedictory Dinner 2020

Halloween Karaoke

A Block event

Top A girls enjoyed an afternoon picnic in the forest with freshly baked goods and yummy cheeses and dip. It was a great opportunity to have a study break and end the semester with friends and food.

GOODBYE TO THE ANDERSONS

An interview with Dan

If you have not heard already, adored RMC chaplain and long-time resident of RMC, Dan Anderson, will be moving from Sydney to Murrumbateman at the conclusion of 2020 to pursue a new position at the Lachlan Macquarie Institute. After 8 long years at RMC, he must have encountered countless strange residents, and witnessed a few wacky College moments, so we decided to ask him a few questions about his time at RMC.

Your presence at RMC is remarkable: from leading the morning and afternoon services at TCM, to providing students with the necessary tools to further explore who they are, and what faith means to them. Residents and staff alike are unlikely to forget you and your family. How did you end up moving to RMC?

I was studying a PHD at Macquarie University before I took the job at RMC. I was a student studying at Macquarie, and would take the train up from where we were staying in Croydon. I was aware of Robert Menzies College, but the job was being advertised and my wife Emma ended up showing me the ad. The Master of the College at the time was Bruce Pollard, someone that we had known from when we were students in Canberra. He was the Master of the College where Emma stayed, and she became a Christian when she was there. We talked to him about whether we should take the role, and he was very enthusiastic and told us to take it. Initially, I wasn’t sure if this was what I wanted to do; I was planning on studying full time to finish off my PHD, and I had a scholarship to do that. But we saw the incredible opportunity of living in a community, and being able to share the message about Jesus with people. We loved the mission of RMC and that’s why we came here.

Living on-site for as many years as you have, what has been your most endearing memory of your time at RMC?

Well the most significant memory, maybe endearing is not the right word, was when our daughter Evangeline was born in 2015. There is a long story behind all of this, but we were home the morning when she was born. I was doing some work in the kitchen, and Emma was having some labour pains. You probably don’t know this until you’ve had kids, or at least started that process, but sometimes labour pains start and then they stop again. Emma wasn’t at all sure if this was the real thing, and if the baby was actually going to come, so we were having discussions over whether or not we should go to the hospital. She was saying no, and long story short – we left it too late. Evangeline was born in the D-Flat bathroom, and that’s certainly an indelible memory.

Some of the other special times were having people in our home. For a long time, each week we would have people in our home: we would have the chaplaincy RAs over for dinner for barbeques, and would have random students dropping in with questions. I’ve loved the Think True events that we have run, where we sit with each other and talk about what is true and good, and where Jesus fits into that.

Surrounded by College students close to 24 hours a day, you must have witnessed some oddities at RMC, do any standout?

There are all sorts of funny stories of people at RMC and their funny quirks. I guess the ones that we have noticed most often, especially living in D-Flat, is that at various points over the years there have been people that have wanted to smoke, and usually smoke weed in the rooms above us. So they would come up with these crazy apparatus with long pieces of tubing coming out of their windows without realising the smoke was coming out of their windows and straight into ours. It was very obvious.

You have spent much of your time at RMC teaching students how to live a more intentional life, can you give us one last ‘all-in-one’ tip for doing so?

I think the most important thing is to actually take the time to do it. It is very easy to get caught up in a swirl of distractions. Our culture tends to fear boredom, and we have these incredible devices, these phones in our pockets, which are by far the most interesting things that humans have ever invented. So as we constantly go from one thing to another, we never leave ourselves any space to reflect, and think about why we are making the choices that we are making, or what the direction of our life really is. The most important thing is to actually work out when you are going to take the time to ask yourself those big questions about what makes life worth living, and whether I am living it well. And I think you have to do that in conversation with other people, rather than going off and doing it on your own, which is one of the reasons that I think churches are so special – a whole group of people who want to take the time to think about what makes life worth living, and how to do it well.

Sweden with Emilie Keeping up with RMC

My name’s Emilie and I’m from the Scandinavian country Sweden. As Sweden is the fifth largest European country it has a diverse landscape, ranging from the southern rich Skåne plains to the Northern forest and mountains. If you are looking for a hiking vacation, I would recommend visiting the Mount Kebnekaise, which is Sweden’s highest peak and is located above the Arctic cycle. But if you are looking for more of a city vacation, my hometown and the capital, Stockholm, is a beautiful city to visit. As the city is built up by 14 islands there are lots of nice cafes by the waterfront where you can get a traditional fika or you could explore the city by ferry. Summer concerts at the amusement park, Gröna Lund, is also a must, as they have had artists such as The Beatles and Elton John before but also local artists such as ABBA, Sara Larsson and Avicii.

One unique Swedish tradition is that at every Christmas Eve since 1959 the nation sits together to watch the cartoon “Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas”. And yes, Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve and not Christmas Day. Even though the country has many traditional foods such as crispbread and meatballs, I probably miss the salty licorice the most as it’s almost impossible to find outside the Nordic countries. But what I really don’t miss about Sweden are the really dark winters, as we only get 5 hours of sunlight.

A thought with Devyn

A thought that has been a recurring theme for me this year is the way in which everything, even small things, can have an enormous impact on the world. I find that too often people think that because the universe is so large, or the world is so big, our individual lives do not matter in the grand scheme of things. Wrong.

I’m sure most of you have heard of the butterfly effect; the phenomenon in which a slight shift in the state of one thing has larger impacts in a later state. If this year has shown us anything, it’s that one person’s actions really can create an effect which the entire world feels. Even us individually - when I cross the zebra crossing to walk to the Mac centre and a car stops for me, I have now altered that person’s life in one way or another. I have changed their time of arrival, I have changed the cars that they will interact with (because they will get to different parts of the road at different times), I have effectively changed that person’s life, even if just slightly. If that person was in a bad mood or in a hurry, I may have contributed to that feeling and made their day worse. It’s impossible to say, but I have made an impact in one way or another.

Now take that concept and apply it to our thoughts. Every thought we have is shaped in some way by the thought or experience we had just before. So, if I stub my toe and it causes me pain, that experience will have shaped the rest of my thoughts in some way or another. If someone makes a joke and I laugh, that happy feeling will influence my next thought which will influence the next one and so on and so forth - and proceed to change the mood of the day.

I guess my point with all of this is that if our thoughts and mindsets are shaped by the other thoughts or experiences we have throughout the day, the impact you could have on someone’s day or even someone’s life is greater than you may think. So, my friends, I encourage you to all try and make a positive impact on the people around you, no matter how small that gesture may be. Because their every thought after that will stem from your initial act of kindness.

Bill’s Best

National Park edition

Long have I said that the only good thing about Sydney is that it is surrounded by some of the most beautiful national parks in NSW. 1 hr south you have the Royal National Park, 1 ½ hrs west you have the Blue Mountains, 30 minutes north you can escape to Berowra Valley National Park and 30 minutes north west you have the magical Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. Over my 3 years at college I have decided that the overall best day out can be had on a Friday beginning at the Jerusalem Bay track in the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. All you have to do is drive 30 minutes or take the 50-minute train to Cowan station just north of Berowra. From there you begin a walk into the forest of Ku-ring-gai Chase for no more than an 1hr. This will take you to Jerusalem Bay. The name does not disappoint because it can feel like God’s dwelling on earth. This is a gorgeous bay that has a mixture of deep and shallow waters to swim in. On the far side of the bay is about a 10m Jump rock which is worth a few goes at. Once you finish there, get back to your car and make your way 10 minutes south to EKIM Brewery. This is one of my favourite breweries that is only open Fridays 1pm-7pm. You can sit in and have a few middy’s or grab some tins and go to Barnett’s lookout to watch the sunset over Berowra waters.

3.5/5 Bills

Mason jar snow globes

Materials: - Tree ornament

- Glitter (2 tablespoons per globe) - Clear glue (1/4 of a cup or 60ml per globe) - Warm water (1 cup per globe) - Mason jar - Spoon - Glue gun

Instructions:

1. Using a glue gun, carefully glue the bottom of your tree ornament to the mason jar lid. Make sure to use enough glue to secure the ornament. Set aside to dry.

2. Add approximately 1/4 cup of clear glue into your jar.

3. Pour 1 cup of warm water into your jar and stir the mixture with a spoon.

4. Pour in 2 tablespoons of glitter (silver or white glitter works best). Then stir thoroughly with a spoon.

5. Take the lid with your ornament and place it face down into the mason jar. The lid should rest evenly on the jar’s top rim. Ensure the jar is tightly sealed. Add glue to the lid to prevent any leaking if needed.

6. Make sure your snow globe is completely sealed by shaking it carefully at first. Then, shake and enjoy!

Sourced from:

https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/mason-jar-snow-globe/

Ben: *about the US election* Today would be like Christmas for Ethan.

Natasha: Accounting is so dry. There is no joy in it. It’s death.

Tully: I really vibe with bedframes.

Lucy W: I’m hungry when I’m full.

*talking about a dream I had*

Imogen: So we bathed a penguin...

Liam: Wait, we did what?

Imogen: I said what I said.

Seun: It’s been a while since I’ve had the wood in my hands.

Lisa: I love chains.

Pru: ... I love ropes.

Tees: I have a question about uni, are we actually meant to learn stuff?

Pat: Does Patrick Dowzer have a similar ring to Louis Vuitton?

Sequoia: Why can’t I flirt with every woman in Greece?

*talking about Pirates of the Caribbean* Theresa: They filmed one of those near my house... the one with the boats!

Natasha N *to Big W worker*: Where are the adult nappies?

Torchi: Jesus personally endorsed goon.

Natasha: Who’s that engineer dude? Howard right?

Sally: Andrew.

Natasha N: Wait the 19 in Covid-19 is for 2019?? I thought it was an atomic number like H20.

Lara: If sugar gets dissolved is it still sugar?

Saraswati: I’ve killed people.

Ismail: The borders are definitely gonna open in the summer break.

Sufi: Why?

Ismail: Because the gyms are open 24/7.

Sequoia: This woman is savage. Marry me?

*Sean struggles to swallow some ginger*

Sean: Ohh Ed Sheeran in my mouth.

Bec: *laughs* It’s an inside joke with myself.

Emily: I have this launch event for my philosophy essay.

Annaliese: Are Plato and Socrates gonna be there?

Lisa: Did you know Genius is spelt with a ‘J’?

Zara: It’s like sexy astronaut vibes.

Dan: Are sheets different sizes?

Jed: .....no?

Dan: Because I always grab one of both.

Jed: *notices Dan is making his bed*

OH SHEETS! I Thought you said cheeks.

Courtney G: Yeah I read a book... Facebook.

Rhea: Classy people fart all the time, they just don’t tell you about it.

Kai: I was in the shower the other day and I actually managed to conjure up considerable cleavage.

Overheard a funny conversation? Said something that can be taken way out of context? Send them in to The Voice’s Facebook page to be featured in the next edition!