The Voice Issue Three

issue three // mad may

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ad May? Mercifully, my assignments have been spread out this semester; the only madness for me this month is putting together The Voice. Still, that beats trying to find boring journal articles that happen to agree with the point you’re struggling to make in an essay you don’t care much about that’s due in the morning. Not that I’ve ever done that. It’s just what I’ve heard others do.

So my deepest and most sincere sympathies go to those of you unfamiliar with the library, and dealing with the rigours of researching and referencing. Being a student—it’s not easy.

Bereft of a segue, I’ll launch straight into my next point. I read an excellent article in the Sydney Morning Herald recently. Heard of it? It’s a newspaper.

Get amongst it. Anyway, the article takes careful aim at the middle class (us) and asks whether there’s such a thing as the “privileged poor…who believe they are doing it tough despite being socially, economically and educationally privileged in every way.”

The writer must be talking about Avondale when she uses the example of the “…student who subsists on Centrelink

Enough.

Josh Dye payments and unpaid internships, but still has their rent, food and phone bills paid by mum and dad…” Ouch.

Agonising about which restaurant to go to—instead of whether you can even afford to eat. Complaining about how broke you are—after an amazing round-theworld trip. Hmmm.

And all this seems especially silly when you consider the recent garment factory collapse in Bangladesh—a disaster of epic proportions (see pages 13 and 16).

The guys there, and elsewhere, are making our $5 t-shirts, while earning a paltry 38 dollars and zero cents. Per month.

Talk about the big bucks.

The saddest part of our collective moaning about being poor? It becomes easier to ignore the struggles of those who are actually struggling.

Thoughts? thevoice@avondale.edu.au Writers

Editor

Josh Dye

Designer

Danelle Morton

The views and opinions expressed in The Voice are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Avondale College of Higher Education.

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Charlotte O’Neill, Chelsea Mitchell, Hayden Stuart, Jesse Dwyer, Lara Campbell, Mark Tipple, Mitchell Strahan

Special thanks to Colin Chuang

Editorial

Contents

Vox Pop Competition

“Your best photos from around campus”

page four page six

Feature

page seven

Feature

page eight

“Relationship + Religion” “Travel tips 101”

Photo Album Culture Corner

page ten page thirteen

Feature

page fifteen

While You Were Sleeping...

page sixteen

“Ignorance is Negligence”

Comment

page eighteen

ASA News; Letters to the Editor

page nineteen

“Unfulfilled Potential”

Like The Voice - Avondale on

Contents

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hat do you think about College’s zero tolerance approach to alcohol?

No problem. Being on an alcohol-free campus makes everyone feel safer. It’s a factor that sets us apart from other institutions, which allows students to receive the unique ‘Avondale Experience.’

Rebecca Borin The 22nd fundamental belief upheld by the Adventist church outlines Christian behaviour, and the responsibility to care for our bodies. It encourages us to abstain from alcohol for our bodies’ benefit, as they are temples of the Holy Spirit. I think it’s important for Avondale College, an Adventist institution, to advocate these values and keep campus an alcohol- and drug-free zone.

Jodie Barnes I both respect and appreciate ‘zero tolerance’ because it’s what sets Avondale apart from other campuses.

Why change the one thing that makes a place unique and does so for the better?

Lawson Hull I’m not encouraging consumption of alcohol, but whether you live in Ella, Andre or Watson, this is your home. Don’t ever hesitate to come back to your place of safety.

Mark Singh

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Vox Pop The principles of Avondale coming from the Seventh-day Adventist church require College to take a stand against alcohol.

Therefore alcohol shouldn’t be allowed in to or consumed on Avondale grounds.

But this won’t stop people from drinking off campus, and in my opinion fining someone for returning to their ‘home’ intoxicated isn’t the right thing to do.

In reality, we’re all adults and can they really have zero tolerance on something that’s perfectly legal for us all to do?

Jarrod Cherry I think it’s spot on! If you drink, be smart and plan ahead. Despite rumours to the contrary, you are always welcome back in your home. If you do pop up on the ‘radar’, you may receive a little grace from the Deans. Be wise about your choices so you can make the most of College life.

Kim Ellis I think it’s to be expected. Personally, I don’t agree with it and I believe in people’s freedom of action rather than Avondale completely banning certain behaviours, but I understand where the policy is coming from.

Sofía Ruiz

Vox Pop

From experience, we can get so caught up in the ‘I’m an adult’ factor and miss the ‘respect’ factor that comes with being an adult. While Avondale College is a tertiary institution where students are treated as adults, a level of respect needs to be shown toward the core beliefs of this place.

Students enter here from all walks of life; however, at Avondale, the beliefs held and respected are based on the beliefs found in the SDA church. Students should certainly be allowed to make their own choices, but behaviour deemed unsuitable within the SDA church (i.e. consumption of alcohol) should be limited to off-campus.

Personally, I can understand the frustration surrounding these rules, but I feel it necessary to stress the importance of respecting and honouring the values of Avondale College. These ‘rules’ are made clear in contracts signed by students on enrolment and should be respected. Some people may find it harsh or petty, but it is a rule of the campus nonetheless. And as with any rule, the guidelines are made clear when the rule is broken, consequences follow. If a student plans on having a ‘big night’, the solution is simple: be smart and stay off campus. If caught, accept the consequences.

Shauna Ryan

Vox Pop

ASA News The Avondale Student Association—your representatives—met with Paul Hattingh, vice president (finance), to ask a few questions. Here’s a summary: Can we separate residential fees?

The residential cost is a whole package— accommodation and meals. The dormitories are not equipped with sufficient food preparation areas for a self-catering option.

Can we have the car parks sealed?

It would cost $7,000 per car space to asphalt the car park areas. At this stage, the best option is to have a gravel car park.

For the Ella car park extension, a special type of powder has been put in the gravel mix—when it rains it will set hard.

Why is other universities’ parking cheaper?

Avondale receives no government funding for infrastructure, whereas public universities do. This helps keep their costs lower.

How do we know our residential account balance?

Students receive a monthly statement of their fees. If you want an updated estimate, send an email to finance or visit them in person.

If you have any further questions, ask an ASA representative.

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Competition

The best photos from around Avondale in the last month

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Competition

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ore and more I hear the phrase, “I’m spiritual but not religious.” No doubt people say this to get away from the stodgy, conservative image they think religion has with the unchurched. But it has never made sense to me.

Sure, the church has done some horrible things in the past, but when Christians dissociate from religion, it implies that the church is still that bad today. It cheapens the gospel by being ashamed of the very church that preaches it. Obviously church isn’t that bad, otherwise why would you be going every week?

The other aspect is that no relationship can exist without a reference to other relationships. Let me explain.

When I was in high school, there was that couple. You know, the two who were all over each other, the two who spent so much time together, that when they broke up, they had no other friends.

That was an unhealthy relationship, and so is ours with God, if we’ve no one else to share it with. When we make religion an individual matter, we risk getting it wrong, like our couple just now.

God intended us to meet together to worship. This act is religion, no matter how you spin it. In the New Testament, James says:

Feature

Relationship + Religion Mitchell Strahan

“Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this...”

Religion, in essence, is no more than people meeting to express their shared faith together. If they have unhealthy expectations and values, then this will come out when they meet together. But if their faith is healthy, then their religion will be too. “to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” (James 1:27 NET) Would you deny the lonely a chance at community, or will you show people a side of religion they weren’t expecting?

The next time you’re tempted to shy away from the religious label, don’t. Ask yourself how you can present your religion as a healthy one—one that welcomes and supports every kind of person.

Mitchell claims hyperbole is undoubtedly the best literary device ever, was once labelled ‘infertile’ for supporting infant vaccinations, and sometimes forgets how to use escalators.

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hether it’s climbing the Himalayas on a MOTO trip, taking a dip in the pristine waters of the Philippines on a One Mission trip, or gazing at the Pyramids of Giza on a Bible Lands ‘study’ tour—travel is an essential part of the ‘Avondale Experience’.

Once the Avondale-organised part of the trip is over, most students return home to (hopefully) work, or more likely to weeks of playing PlayStation or catching up on A Game of Thrones. An alternative is to stay on for a couple more weeks and pursue a self-directed exploration of the world.

In an effort to encourage more of this, rather than the ho-hum life back home, here are some easy tips to help you navigate your way around the world.

Budget: Crucial. Dedicate time to research the costs you’ll incur in your chosen destination. Consider accommodation, transport, food, water and activities. Establish a daily budget and try to stick to it once you begin traveling.

Flights: Undoubtedly the most expensive part of an overseas adventure, but if you search hard enough, you won’t pay as much as you think. Airlines such as airasia.com (Asia), flyscoot.com (Asia), easyjet.com (Europe) or jetblue.com (Americas) are just a few of the many airlines offering cheap flights.

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Travel tips 101 Hayden Stuart

Keep an eye on your location and pounce whenever you see a cheapie. I once bought return flights to Thailand from Sydney for a touch over $300.

Accommodation: This can be a stressful part of travel, but the reality is most places have an enormous amount of options, ranging from lice-infested dorms costing $2 to almost luxury rooms for $30, depending on your location. It’s natural to think you must book ahead of time, but unless you’re going during a peak season or festival time, you’ll nearly always find a bed once you arrive. If you’re nervous, use an online booking site like hostelbookers.com or hostelworld.com to book your first couple of nights, then use the first day there to suss out cheaper options.

Nepal: Peter Beamish

Travel tips

Moving about: An often unexpected expense. Taxis, trains and buses can easily blow your budget if you’re not prepared. Buses tend to be available at any time, but trains can be booked out ahead of time, so plan accordingly.

Cheaper options, like tuk-tuks in Asia, are a great way to move about cheaply, but it’s crucial to agree on a price with the driver before getting in.

Travel Insurance: A must have. A friend took the risk traveling without it, crashed a motorbike in Thailand, broke his jaw, and returned home with a $10,000 bill from a Thai hospital. Get travel insurance. It’s not that expensive when you put it in perspective.

Philippines: Tyson Dunne

Documentation: Take photocopies of your passport, travel insurance, flight details, existing medical conditions and any other important information. If anything goes wrong, these copies can be lifesaving.

Read: The best advice pre-travel is to get online and read anything you can about the country you’re visiting. Sites like travelfish.org (SE Asia) or tripadvisor.com. au (worldwide) host forums full of useful information and firsthand experiences from travelers all over the world.

If you’re lacking ideas, visit matadornetwork.com for inspiration.

Egypt: Colin Chuang

Hayden wants to live in a van for a year, hates people with road rage, is an expert on geography trivia, and knows nothing about girls.

Travel tips

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Photo Album

This Page: Avondale students at the Swisse Color Run in Newcastle

Candace Ludlow

Opposite: Watson Hall games night Touch Footy Mascot

Jess Laws

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Photo Album

Omot Deng

Below: Past winners of Pauly’s Gourmet Kitchen $50 vouchers. Like ‘The Voice - Avondale’ on Facebook to win each week.

Jace Roberts

Photo: Jordan Duncan

Photo Album

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Mention this add for a 10% discount.

M 0450954129 E sales@drydockcellars.com.au www.drydockcellars.com.au

Culture Corner Mark Tipple

Outside the Caf: Noodle Heaven, Morisset During Christian Studies, they often talk about the beliefs of the SDA church and its teachings on Jesus, the Sabbath and Heaven. Unfortunately, however, they never mention the Heaven that’s located on Yambo Street in Morisset. Noodle Heaven have a great array of tasty noodles, and your enjoyment will be maximised when paying just $7 (!?!) for their lunch special between 11am-3pm on weekdays. You’ll find the Heaven of Noodles just outside the entry to the Coles shopping complex next to the chemist facing Yambo Street.

Clothing: O’Shirt More than 1,100 people died in the tragic collapse of a manufacturing factory in Bangladesh in late April. 1,100 people being paid a minimum of $38 a month to make cheap clothes for people like us. This is the world we live in. Although many of us feel helpless, there is a group of young people—including Avondale alumni—indirectly causing change.

O’Shirt teams up with a life-giving charity every fortnight and their designers portray the charity’s message in a fashionable way on the t-shirts. $7 from each sale goes to the charity and it’s a great way of raising awareness. Check them out: www.oshirt.com

Photo: Wes Hendricks

Orana Girls Top 10 The Orana comes out, then a Top 10 list is made. It’s a tradition as old as the Orana itself—although not everyone’s favourite. This year some enthusiastic Watson Hall residents decided to take the vote online.

They have probably been a little biased towards their friends and the indoor girls, but the whole thing is done in good nature. If nothing else, have a look at the comments and the interesting “debates” people have entered into on behalf of their friends.

Mark has a unique laughing style, wants to write a book one day, and is an expert on chapter three of 2 Corinthians.

Culture Corner

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here are two kinds of people in the world: those who are greenies, and those who are not. Or maybe there are more kinds of people… Nope, just those two. Which group do you fall into?

Do you rave passionately about the absolute necessity of recycling, rallying to promote eco-awareness by re-using Coles green bags? Do you swear that the polar bears are nearing extinction, and that the ice caps have probably melted during the time it’s taken to write this?

Or do you look on these people as ‘greenies’ who are more obsessed with the fact that being environmentally savvy is another ‘in’ thing? Only hipsters care about the environment, right? Al Gore was obviously uneducated and biased, and the incremental warmth that the earth is experiencing is just summer in Australia.

I tend to be a little lukewarm on this issue (ha). As Christians, it’s easy to be concerned with our salvation and even the salvation of others. But what about our obligation to the world we’ve been placed in—the natural world, not the sinners.

Does our position as humans—made to “have dominion” (Genesis 1:28) over all the animals, land, sea and sky—negate some sort of responsibility? environmentally negligent: if God’s going to destroy

Feature

Ignorance is Negligence Charlotte O’Neill

and renew it all anyway, why not help it happen a little quicker?

It can sometimes be difficult to be good environmental stewards. Not everyone can choose to live without a car, and consume only organic, spray-free food (especially those of us living on campus). For some, being environmentally thoughtful might simply be turning off the lights and having shorter showers.

Environmental awareness may not be a salvation issue, but ignorance is negligence. Are we, as Christians, doing our part to make the world a better place socially, spiritually, economically, and environmentally?

I’m not suggesting that saving seals is as important as saving souls. What I’m suggesting is that we should act wisely in relation to the things God has entrusted us with.

Charlotte thinks board games are incredibly fun, is an expert at making a cup of tea with soy milk, and is terrible at being early—to anything.

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“This photo is haunting me all the time.”

While You Were Sleeping...

Lara Campbell

Taslima Akhter, photographer and activist, calls on the authorities to punish those responsible for the catastrophic garment factory collapse near Dhaka, Bangladesh on April 24. Bodies continue to be pulled out as the death toll soars past 1,100.

Taslima Akhter

“Help me, I’m Amanda Berry… I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years. And I’m here. I’m free now.”

Amanda Berry, 27, frantically calls 911 after emerging from a suburban house in Cleveland, Ohio where she was held captive for 10 years with two other women.

“I’m calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him, ‘Kim’, to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose” Former NBA star Dennis Rodman calls on his mate Kim Jong Un to release a Korean-American tour operator sentenced to 15 years hard labour for undisclosed “hostile acts” against the communist state.

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While You Were Sleeping...

“The fatal journey is made pleasant, elegant and ritualistic.”

Julijonas Urbonas, designer and engineer of the mesmerisingly bizarre Euthanasia Coaster. The hypothetical ride would take its passengers on a terrifying 500m descent, reaching speeds of 360km/h, before going through a series of tightening loops that would render even the most ‘robust’ passengers unconscious, then dead.

Disturbing.

“It’s an immature and disappointing start to their campaign if that’s what it is.”

Neil Lawrence (the marketing guru behind the Kevin ‘07 campaign) slams a recent Liberal Party ad depicting Gillard and co as headless chooks.

Visit www.liberal.org.au/chooks/ before Senator Conroy tears it down.

Odd Spot: The humble shuttlecock in is danger of extinction as the spread of Bird Flu leaves Chinese manufacturers short of feathers.

While You Were Sleeping...

Lara wants to sleep in an igloo one night, dislikes the excessive use of exclamation marks, and her white car has one blue door because of a pole that jumped out in front of her while driving!!!!!!

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hy are you at Avondale? Is it because you had friends here, because you could get in here, or because you didn’t know what else you wanted to do so you ended up here?

Ultimately, the ‘why’ is a lot less important than the ‘what’—specifically, what you’re going to do now you’re here.

Avondale has a lot of potential. It has the potential to be great—the ‘best years of your life’ is the oft-quoted phrase. It has the potential to provide you with a good education and a rounded experience so you can “be prepared for what life can throw at you.”

For this potential to be realised, both students and Avondale need to bring something to the equation. For students, that’s taking responsibility for the things within our power. Late assignment? Bad luck, wear it. Didn’t pay your account on time? Tough, accept the fine.

However, there’s another side. We, as the student body, are the paying customers of a business. It’s also reasonable that we have expectations—specifically that you’re getting value for money for those fees, and that you have a voice if you feel you’re not. It’s reasonable that this voice is a student council— duly elected by the student population—which has authority within college, and to which college in answerable.

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Unfulfilled Potential Jesse Dwyer

Avondale expects us as students to uphold their reputation and be proud of it as an institution—a fair request and an excellent goal. However, Avondale needs to be an institution with a great deal to be proud of, and well deserving of a good reputation.

Ultimately, these things are very much achievable, but require two things: a mature student population who is willing to be involved, and a receptive response from Avondale to the needs of paying adult customers—their students.

If both parties could communicate and co-operate as peers and adults, rather than as rivals, we all stand to gain a great deal.

Jesse enjoys studying at the premier academic institution in Australia, is known to occasionally engage in the odd video game, and hates drivers incapable of indicating correctly.

Comment

Sofía Ruiz, via email “The current model is the most cost effective...”

For who? Clearly not for the students, otherwise Mr Hattingh would have revealed how much money is allocated for each meal. I think everybody wants to know where their money is going every time they grab a bite, right?

If the parking cost of $120 per semester doesn’t cover the cost of asphalting, why do we pay such a large amount? Here are some references from the real world: - Bond University: Free - University of Western Sydney: $45 per semester - The University of Newcastle: $74.20 per semester

Letters to the Editor Feedback? thevoice@avondale.edu.au

Channae Davies, via email While the current fees model may be the most cost effective for Avondale, it’s definitely not for students—the paying customers.

We could just pay per swipe, only paying for a meal if we happen to show up; the number of people to cater for would soon be evident by how many show up to certain meals.

As for the residences’ incapacity for a self-catering option—I manage just fine providing food for myself.

Qantas Socceroos captain Lucas Neill likes The Voice, do you?