Verse Magazine Edition #20 | March - April 2018

FREE Edition 20 | March - April 2018 Your Student Mag

This Edition Love Wins Identity Songs to Groove to The White Balloon

Contents Edition 20 | March - April 2018

02 Editor’s Letter 04 5 ½ Tips for Your First Year of University 06 Love Wins 08 Seeing the Trees for the Leaves 10 Identity 12 Tolkien vs Pratchett 14 Songs to Groove to 16 In[ter]view: Kay Neill 22 The White Balloon 24 Imag[in]e: Aida Azin 34 The Queer Agenda 37 Shooting Star 36 The Death of Alexander Hamilton 39 Being an Australian Writer in 2018 41 Blackout 42 VOX: Student Voice 45 USASA Student Representatives 55 March / April Calendar 56 The Last Plum 59 That Time We Were Infinite 60 Review: Seven Days, Seven Sins, Seven Breakfasts 62 The Signs As: Characters in The Room (2003)

Cover Image & Above Image Aida Azin

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Editor's Letter Head Editor | Jesse Neill Wow. What a year. 2017 blurred by and while it seemed like a year marred by doom and gloom, there were some bright spots too.

The 20th edition of Verse reflects this dichotomy of optimism and heartache, with a variety of creative pieces that will tug at your emotional strings, exploring everything from Pratchett to plums.

While it’s a time to reflect on the year that has been, it’s also a time to look ahead. So I leave you with a little message from the Verse team this year – myself, Simon, Maddy and Sascha – whether you’re returning to UniSA or it’s your first day, good luck in 2018!

Embrace every moment with determination rather than indecision, with curiosity rather than indifference, and with love rather than fear. Celebrate the little wins and remember – love wins.

The Verse team acknowledges and pays respect to the Kaurna, Boandik and Barngarla people as the traditional custodians of the land that we create, publish and share on.

Head Editor Jesse Neill | Editor Simon Telford | Communications Madison Kennewell Graphic Designer Sascha Tan | Printer Newstyle | Design & Production Consultant Georgie Smith The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily representative of the views of USASA or the editors.

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Edition 20 Contributors We want to add you to the contributors list!

Dear students of UniSA, we sincerely thank you! Thank you all so very much for helping put your magazine together! Below are the names of this edition's written and visual student contributors.

Students are the back bone of this magazine and it doesn't run without your valuable input. Send through written or visual work that you want to show off! With open arms we accept all student work; written, drawn, typed, recorded or scrawled, you name it- we want it!

Submit using the online form at:

VerseMag.com.au/Submit Specifications for written work: Aida Azin @aidapplebaum Kayla Bentley David Bucio-Lueza Emma Carrigan Isaac Freeman Jasmin Green @ghostpant Adam Gribble Madison Kennewell @madisonkennewell Leroy Lim Isobel Logan Grace Mackay @gracemackayart Alexandra Misic Jesse Neill @jesse_neill Dallas Nery Sarah Nguyen @sarah.indd UniSA Rainbow Club Connor Reidy Chandler Saing Sascha Tan @saschatan Simon Z. Telford @s.z.telford Kyiandra Thanou @kyiandrathanou Mark Vawser

We are looking for short articles 600-1200 words and longer articles 1200-2400. Articles can be on any topic but we especially love opinion pieces!

Specifications for artwork: Send us images at the highest resolution you can (300 DPI or larger in .jpeg, .tiff or .pdf file format). We love all visual styles and mediums.

@versemagadelaide @versemagazine @versemag_adl

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5 ½ Tips for Your First Year of University Laughter is the best medicine for Pre-Uni woes.

Words by Isaac Freeman | Illustration by Sascha Tan

Your first year of university is like saying you prefer Promite over Vegemite. You don’t have any friends, you may think you know a lot, but obviously, you don’t, and your family won’t see you very often anymore. Fortunately (or unfortunately) you have me, a third-year student, who has experienced the trials and tribulations of the university experience.

5. The First Tutorial Now expect in the first week to essentially have every tutorial be a 2-hour get-to-know-you session.

Remember to recite your name carefully, state your degree, and share something interesting about yourself.

The last part can be a real kick in the HECS if you aren’t ready for it: I said that I was an only child, that’s not even slightly interesting, that’s just being lonely. So come prepared, are you from the year 2010 and part of a Glee club? Well, treat your peers to an acapella rendition of 2pac’s Hit em up! Not musically talented? Just say your grand-mother once rode a unicycle around Australia on a gigantic pub-crawl. BOOM! You've just made a killer first impression!

4. Lectures Ah yes, lectures, a hybrid of re-dated PowerPoint slides and high school assemblies, except there’s learning!

Now, just a quick note, the internet does not exist; there is literally nowhere else you can watch the lecture. So

please, bring in the empty half of your English notebook from Year 12 that has “school sux” and “Liam loves Ms. Dolores” written on the back. Remember, every single sound that the lecturer makes will ultimately be an answer to a question in an assignment or an exam.

Write every single thing they say about anything down in your book really fast, to the point whereby the time you graduate your hands will have crippling arthritis.

Now, as the semester progresses you may notice that there are less and less people in your lecture theatre, this is because they have died from the plague. So be careful who you sit next to!

4 (again). The First Group Assignment Group assignments are designed to make you understand what it is like to be part of a team in the workforce. But this is not true; group assignments are actually like being part of the TV show, Survivor. There will be alliances, lies, and deception, not to mention that week by week one student will put out their torch and never return to the designated meeting place again.

However, some of these disappearing students will come back… THE MORNING OF THE PRESENTATION AND THEY WON’T HAVE ANY OF THEIR WORK DONE. OH MY GOD IS THAT STUDENT ASLEEP?! I KNEW I SHOULD’VE GONE ON A GAP YEAR TO EUROPE LIKE I KNOW HOW TO SAY CROISSANT PROPERLY (YOU'VE KINDA GOTTA SAY IT LIKE "QWASAUNT").

"Just say your grandmother once rode a unicycle around Australia on a gigantic pub-crawl."

2 Fast 2 Furious. Making Friends Making friends at university is very different to making friends anywhere else. There is a particular art to it, don’t engage in friend making until the second week, which will allow you to say to the person sitting next to you “I don’t know if I can do these 9 am starts for a semester aye.” If you wish to strike a conversation with a law student, simply compliment them on their Ralph Lauren polo or their Gucci handbag. Ensure that you also act sympathetic when they tell you they only got a Golf for Christmas, not a Range Rover (which they specifically asked for). Halfway through the semester and still no luck? Perhaps ask the age-old question “How do you think you went on that assignment?” then you can both speak of all your short-comings and hatred for the assignment. Before you know it, you will form a tight-knit group of friends before they inevitably defer or change courses.

no different to you or me, but as soon as the lights turn off, they come out to sleep. That’s it for that tips. I got this far and began to run out of ideas so just sleep on campus if you’re that worried. ½. How to Get a HD on Every Assignment This secret technique will guarantee the highest grade possible on every assignment you put your ramen noodle covered fingers on! Just read very very carefully at what I tell you next, and you will without a doubt be on par with academic superstars such as Albert Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, and the rapper B.O.B (who currently states that the earth is flat). Okay, now it’s time for me to reveal to you the most crucial piece of information you will ever receive in your life. To get a HD on every assignment, you must…

Well, there's my 5 ½ tips as promised. I'd like to personally apologise to the law students and wish you all good luck in your academic endeavors.

1. Being Punctual Now it’s always necessary to come to class on time for some reason, but just how is that possible every single morning? Public transport is often as late as you are starting your assignments and driving will send you into a spiralling petrol debt. However, there is an alternative; an ancient society exists that was founded on every campus almost five years ago. The Hidden Punctual People live on campus in plain view, they look

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Remembering the past is often the path to moving forward in the future.

Words by Connor Reidy | Illustration by Sascha Tan

I’m declaring 2018 the Year of the Queer.

2017 saw some amazing achievements: despite Trump’s attempts, transgendered people will continue to be allowed to enlist in the U.S. military, a film depicting a homosexual romance won the Oscar for best picture and we witnessed Australia legalising marriage equality. This should be a year of celebration, but it should not pass by without reflection on the adversities our community has faced in the past.

The narrative of the LGBT+ community is bookmarked with icons that catapulted our movement forward.

Pioneers such as Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson and Barbara Gittings come to mind immediately. These are historical figures that fought against inequality and stood in the way of oppression.

I want to talk about the life of William Haines, an often-forgotten film actor and lesser-known queer icon.

Haines was born on the second day of 1900 and quickly claimed the century for himself. He entered the film industry after winning a modelling contest with a studio

contract as the prize. He waltzed into the producers’ office declaring “I’m your new prized beauty!”

William Haines cinematic career began in 1922 when he had a bit part in Brothers Under the Skin. His charisma and talents saw him successfully transition from silent films to “talkies” – an achievement almost unknown at the time. By 1929, he was the highest paid actor in Hollywood. He had secured a place in the elite alumni of the industry. Up there on the silver screen he was adored by women and admired by men.

Unbeknownst to most of the public, he was engaged in a long-term relationship with a sailor named Jimmie Shields, who he would remain with until Shields’ death in 1973. When questioned on the issue of his love life, Haines’ skirted the topic with witty remarks and sly innuendos. It only added to the charm and mystery of the performer’s persona.

However at the peak of his career, Hollywood decided to purify its image. Morals were questioned and the content of films was restricted. Contract clauses

were introduced to all the major studios’ actors and Haines’ was forced to conceal his sexuality.

In 1934, Louis B. Mayer (one of the most powerful men in the Golden Age of Hollywood) called Haines into his office and told him it was time he got married.

If he wanted to continue in the industry, fitting the heteronormative norms of society was essential.

He pleaded with the actor to marry his long term friend: the incomparable and infamous Joan Crawford.

Haines stood up and replied “I am already married.”

The celebrated actor walked out of that office and his cinematic career and never looked back. If Hollywood couldn’t accept his love, he wouldn’t accept Hollywood’s standards.

Although he may not have picketed the fences of the White House or began riots within the confines of Stonewall, Haines’ civil disobedience was of a more subtle variety, but still essential to the narrative of queer rights. No matter the magnitude of any form of protest against oppression within our community, the ripples are noticeable and should still be celebrated.

The triumphs and trials of queer icons are stories that need to be perpetuated and never forgotten. These are the risk-takers that contributed to our freedom.

They are the reason 2017 saw love win.

He didn’t let this set him back, it did not faze him one bit. Within a decade he created William Haines Designs: an interior design company that took the design world by storm with its debut at the 1939 World’s Fair in San Francisco. To this day it continues to be a multimillion dollar design company, exhibiting innovative designs all across the world, including the White House.

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Seeing the trees for the leaves Why you should get a hearing check up Words by Madison Kennewell I llustration by Grace Mackay

When it comes to hearing aids, there are significant differences between generations on usage and perception. At 8:30am on the 15th of January 2018, I walked out of a Hearing SA clinic with shiny new hearing aids over my ears and spent a week recording the reactions of those around me, as well as their impact on my daily life.

The first thing I noted: Seagulls sound like flying nightmare monsters, I am prepared to flip a table over the sound of someone tapping their pen on a table, and nothing is more satisfying than the thump of my keyboard as I punch down a key.

Hearing loss is a bizarre thing. We think of it as a problem only found in the elderly and those born completely deaf. We rarely think about gradual hearing loss, or hearing impairment as a more-or-less stable entity. If vision can be a gradient of 20/20 vision to blindness (and we know that someone who wears glasses isn’t inevitably going to go blind) why do we think of hearing impairments as a binary system of ‘good hearing’ or ‘severe deafness’ - which seems to mean Australian Sign-Language (Auslan) dependency.

For starters, there are over one million people in Australia who have some form of hearing loss, mostly associated with aging. Very few of these people would know or use Auslan, however the precise number of signing deaf people in Australia is unknown. In 1991, Hyde and Power found over 15,400 Deaf users of sign language in Australia, while there were another 15,000 hearing users. If these numbers hold true, that’s one percent of the hearing loss community that sign.

I’m personally ‘Hard of Hearing (HoH)’ and mildly, so I can survive without my hearing aids but I certainly won’t thrive. I know a little Auslan, but certainly no more than the basic signs and finger-spelling that many primary schools teach you. I don’t consider myself to be part of the deaf community, but absolutely consider the deaf community to be a cousin that I will argue on behalf of, if needed or requested.

19-44 is the most common age period for the onset of hearing loss. University can mark a period of change, so keep an eye out for this one too.

Millennials experience hearing loss to some degree due to a variety of factors; music at unsafe volumes through earbuds, loud concerts and sporting events, clubs and environmental or workplace noise, diabetes, high blood pressure, exposure to ototoxic medications, viral or bacterial infections, or genetics. Hearing loss in the elderly is more likely to be age-related and therefore progressive.

“Often, millennials find that untreated hearing loss is more noticeable than the device used to correct it.”

I have found younger generations, millennials and Gen Z to be the most accepting of hearing assistive devices. As soon as I mentioned that they were Bluetooth enabled so I could stream music straight to my hearing aids, it was like mentioning a magic loophole to covert music streaming. Everyone is using Bluetooth, headphones or ear buds, so having small hearing aids tucked behind your ear doesn’t draw the same attention. Often, millennials find that untreated hearing loss is more noticeable than the device used to correct it.

Hearing loss or impairment is going undiagnosed in people in their 20s. Hearing damage is permanent — there’s no cure and no treatment. It results in more than people who don't hear well. From classrooms to retail jobs, the inability to hear clearly is something that disrupts education, employment, and relationships.

Hearing aids are assistive devices, but will not magically repair your hearing.

For many, hearing loss can also be unnoticed.

In 1731, King Frederick I of Sweden gave a lion he had killed to a taxidermist who had never seen a lion before. The result is a meme-worthy misshapen, bizarrely-nightmarish creature. How are you supposed to know what something is, if you’ve never seen it or heard it before?

I use the tree analogy. Draw a picture of a tree.

Most of us will draw a trunk and a cloud-like outline of leaves, and we recognise it as a tree, even if we know that trees have individual leaves. My hearing is that basic tree, but I never had the experience to know that trees (hearing) were supposed to have leaves (detailed background sound.)

The few warning signs I had were these; • Asking to have things repeated often.

• Not always responding when spoken to.

• Having trouble hearing when spoken to from another room.

• Misunderstanding conversation.

• Trouble hearing when it is noisy and in group settings.

• Turning on subtitles.

• Ignoring sounds coming from behind.

• Experiencing ringing or buzzing in the ears.

• Turning head towards the person speaking.

• Difficulty with telephone conversations.

This week has imparted two facts; hearing aids make excellent headphones, and social perceptions towards assistance devices are wildly different between generations. As a student of languages, I’m sure that my educational results will improve, now that I can hear what is being said – and I recommend that everyone goes and gets their hearing checked. I certainly didn’t have any idea that my hearing was poor until others started noticing and suggesting that I have a checkup, and today I’m passing that on.

Go get a hearing test.

You too, might not be able to see the trees for the leaves.

For questions regarding free hearing checks, hearing services, and all other general enquiries please call Australian Hearing on 1800 676 263, or make an appointment with your GP. To access UniSA’s free clinics, call 1300 172 996 to book an appointment.

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Circumference of ideas Splash of colours Little quirks The things that make me That hold me steady Smudge the words on that letter Can not marry Achy war wound Identity Faded lover Brand new lines Bright blue eyes Got that hair Jealousy miles Twitchy fingers Scratchy mind Seen by some Harder to find Identity Mirror image of softer spoken words Entwined slowly in verses Queer Still here Smiles for another Same in some ways Bumping elbows Different in others Learning ways Goals and dreams Rainbow heartstrings Screams Left brained displayed Minority contemplating Still refuse To hide identity We didn’t choose Acceptance In a piece by piece review Impatient others No time to enjoy the view Self-love chosen freely Hold the hand closest to your heart Identity accepted by me Tough beginning New start

Identity

What makes up your identity is more than meets the eye Poem by Kayla Bentley | Illustration by Sarah Nguyen

Tolkien vs Pratchett A quick comparison on world building Words by S. Z. Telford | Illustration by Leroy Lim

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The following short piece offers a condensed introduction and comparison of world building, focusing on “creation stories” and how such tales are represented in the fantasy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion and Terry Pratchett’s The Colour Magic.

This piece will explain how the authors proceeded to explain and create their own world, the narratives that were used, and will compare similarities and differences between the two.

The Silmarillion is a recount of the beginning of the universe and the following ages of the first world in the lands of Middle-earth and surrounding continents. It is written in the style of a historical narrative, retelling stories which hold some sense of compatibility with our own reality. The Colour Magic, however, is set in a universe that follows “common sense rather than logic” and offers the narrative of a universe not as compatible with our own, creating its own content outside normal cultural and physical understandings. The Colour Magic is not a singular text with a sole purpose of explaining creation and early history, but rather is the first of many books in a series, introducing the reader to base levels of creation and existence lore.

Tolkien’s The Silmarillion is a collected reinvention of ancient mythologies and folk lore, in which he took inspiration and reinvented into his own history, starting from the beginning of time itself. Tolkien, an English literature and linguistics scholar, who taught at Oxford and served in the first world war, used his cultural background and what he called lore of the “Northern Spirit” as the basis for his inspiration. Contrary to this, Terry Pratchett, also an Englishman, grew up in the 1960’s and was influenced much by science-fiction.

His “Discworld” is based on varying mythologies from around the world, most notably India, which holds the lore of a turtle and an elephant carrying the world.

Pratchett’s wider access to a broader range of literature and other culture’s mythos, due to the time he was born into, and the lack of a passion for Northern and European folk lore, may account, some part at least, for the differences between the two styles.

Tolkien’s creation of The Silmarillion was pioneering and ushered in the concentrated world building that fantasy authors now take advantage of. Due to Tolkien’s work in The Silmarillion, the depth of writing and thought he put into the world and history, he changed the landscape for creative writing in the modern era. Pratchett’s Discworld, introduced through The Colour Magic, was released after the success of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, which uses similar aspects of absurdist reality and comedic satirical writing within narrative. Pratchett, however, unlike Adams, introduced this to the fantasy genre rather than the science fiction. Pratchett is one of the founders of satirical, comedic fantasy writers in the modern era, his success giving a path for others.

“A flat Discworld, carried on the backs of four great elephants, standing on the shell of an impossibly large turtle floating through space.”

The ultimate difference between the two authors and their works, the themes of creation and existence within a universe, is that Tolkien relies on past historical lore and mythos to present a relatable and recognisable universe and creation when compared to the audience’s reality. Pratchett, does not do this. He, instead, relies on the audience’s willingness to imagine and accept the absurd as part of his rhetoric that common sense is preferable to logic. Thusly the end products are one text, The Silmarillion, which gives a narrative of a planet and land created by a God and host of angels, and another text, The Colour Magic which presents a flat Discworld, carried on the backs of four great elephants, standing on the shell of an impossibly large turtle floating through space.

If you have not read the works of J.R.R Tolkien or Terry Pratchett please do yourself the favour of giving it a go. You won’t be disappointed.

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Words and Illustration by Sascha Tan

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WASN'T LOOKING ELIZA

UNO DOS ¿TÉO? feat. JADEN SMITH

AIN'T NOTHING CHANGED LOYLE CARNER

MS. COMMUNICATION DA-P feat. SUN & THE MIND

C U GIRL STEVE LACY

99 FREDWAVE

ARROW ROOT MF DOOM

FALLEN JADEN SMITH

1995 CORYAYO

I'M SORRY SWELL feat. SHILOH

Find us @VerseMag on Spotify for some groovy tunes!

COOL ZACK VILLERE

THE PERILS OLD MAN SAXON

MEDITATION GOLDLINK feat. JAZMINE SULLIVAN, KAYTRANADA

YOU'RE THE ONE KAYTRANADA feat. SYD

In[ter]view: Kay Neill Verse Mag's Regular Graduate Interview

In a VERSE first, Head Editor Jesse Neill, discusses career advice, parenting, and cleaning his room with his mum and CEO of CHG, Kay Neill.

Interview conducted by Jesse Neill | Photos supplied by Kay Neill

How would you describe your role?

I work for CHG, a South Australian owned and operated occupational health business that has been providing occupational health services to address the needs of Australian employers since 1976. As CEO, I have responsibility for setting the strategic direction and am ultimately accountable for the performance of all financial, operational and people related aspects of the business.

How long have you been with this company?

My length of service is 30 years having been through a couple of ownership changes. I initially started in the company as a receptionist and have worked in pretty much every area of the business. I worked my way up through various management positions until I became the CEO in 2002, having completed my degree in 1998.

What were you doing before this?

After completing high school I travelled overseas as an exchange student. On my return to Australia, I worked at the Womens and Childrens hospital and medical surgery in administrative roles. So really, I’ve worked in health my whole career.

When you were studying at university, is this where you expected to end up?

While I was working for CHG, the Chairman encouraged me to get a degree. The Finance Manager was leaving and so our Chairman suggested that I should apply, however explained that I would need formal qualifications to support my work experience.

I guess I initially saw my studies as a means to an end to achieve this promotion, so never really imagined it would lead me to the position of CEO. What was studying at university like for you?

I finished my degree, Bachelor of Business (Administrative Management) twenty years ago it was very difficult as I studied via distance learning at a time where our modern technology was still in its early stages. There were no recorded lectures online, no electronic submission of assignments, or even reliable online resources. At the start of every semester I would receive a pile of photocopied study notes and assignment guidelines and if I was experiencing any problems, I had to go to campus to seek assistance.

I was working full-time in a job that required a lot of overtime work and was also trying to run a home, a finance team, sit on a board and was going through IVF to have you!! It was very stressful. The day I received my degree was one of the proudest moments of my life.

I was the first one in our immediate family to achieve a tertiary qualification and you had arrived 8 weeks early, which made the completion of my last two assignments a real challenge!

On that note, as the first mother-son interview in Verse, is there anything you wish us kids would do differently?

Clean your rooms and answer our calls/messages on the smartphone that is always attached to your hand and interestingly able to respond to your friends! On

a serious note, I love the way this generation is able to evaluate and question the truth in what you see, read or hear. I feel social media is the greatest hope we have for engaging our young people in community service and political leadership in the future.

Over the past few years there has been a lot of attention placed on the percentage of females with leadership roles in Australia, what is your perspective on this and what advice do you have for young women?

I can honestly say in my career, I have always been promoted on merit and paid commensurate with males doing similar roles. I think there is a danger in trying to

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address the imbalance through any recruiting approach that is not at its core based on skills, experience, and fit; as opposed to a target that leads to decisions being made on gender. However, greater emphasis must be placed on engaging women in leadership development and mentoring throughout their career, identifying strategies to keep developing their skills while they are providing care giving roles, and encouraging young women at school to enter professions that have been largely male dominated in the past.

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I say embrace every opportunity that comes your way.

Empower yourself and find motivation from within. Be brave and focus on what you can do rather than what you can’t. It is my experience that women will often not stretch themselves as they look at a position description and think “at this point in time I can only do 70 per cent of the duties, therefore there will be other people more qualified, so I won’t apply.” Instead, you should think “why not!?” At the end of our careers we do not want to look back and think “what if” or “I should have” – we want to look back and think “I was the best person I could have been in all aspects of my life.”

Something students can relate to is stress, especially around exam time. As your job comes with many challenges and pressures, what things do you like to do to relax in your off-time?

The beach is my sanctuary. I try to walk at the beach every morning, as I need physical activity to help me maintain my resilience, perspective and well-being.

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Taking time out to experience a sunrise or sunset helps me to reconnect with the importance of the simple things in life.

What advice would you have for those currently studying the same degree/area as you?

Be grateful that you live in a country that allows you to study and develop skills to be a life-long and lifewide learner. The ability to embrace change and be adaptable is essential for your future career. The key to success in business in this decade is having good self-awareness, resilience, emotional intelligence, being prepared to disrupt the status quo and to use your degree as a launching pad to the next stage; rather than seeing it as something to get through or an ending. We live in exciting times and the best news is that the job you will have in 20 years has probably not even been contemplated yet!

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The White Balloon A short that understands letting go is the only way to move forward

Words by Adam Gribble Photography by Sascha Tan

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A thousand lanterns cast a reddish glow over the teeming crowd of onlookers, their eyes reflecting the star speckled skyline of deep blue bleeding into cosmic purple. Revellers in bright clothing pushed past each other in search of their night’s mischief, while those in more muted tones shuffled slowly through the throng, hands clasped firmly around thin twine that connected a series of white balloons to the earth. While those in revelry moved with no discernible pattern and with no clear purpose, those gripping firmly to the balloons walked along a path lit with Luminaria, small bags of sand topped with a bright tea-candle.

A towering man in a simple grey shirt stood a head above the inebriated swarm, his left hand gently caressing the face of a small boy, who stared at his father with blue eyes that stood out magnificently against his pale skin and hair. His right hand, like all of those moving along the glowing path, clutched a twine string, which rose like a ladder to a white balloon adorned with smudged handwriting. The man’s eyes were hard as he stared into the distance, barely noticing the tear stained eyes of the child who looked at him as if he were the whole world.

"Only those making the long journey remained; each holding a single twine string attached to a white balloon."

contrast to his father’s cobalt stare. The man’s eyes dropped to the open field, dotted with small stones and markers, and an occasional bouquet of flowers which added the only colour to the surroundings.

The group began to shuffle slightly as each individual within the group withdrew their own markers and fixed them to the end of their twine ropes. The man pulled a solid silver ring from his pocket and thumbed the engraving along its inside. His face finally cracked as he fumbled with the end of the rope, looping a loose knot that would come undone at the proper moment.

He drew in a single sharp sobbing breath as he lifted the rope to his son’s hand, allowing him to grip the string along with him. He squeezed lightly, and as the wind picked up the two hands released in unison, allowing the balloon to be caught in the updraft. The man felt a pull from his chest as a part of his being rose into the sky, the balloon had carried half of the field before the ring swung loose and landed somewhere invisible, now a permanent marker of a life. The balloon itself twisted and turned, a mere reflection of light in the sky. The man drew in a breath and steadied himself, pulling his son down for a gentle kiss on the cheek, before the balloon disappeared into the sky and they turned to walk towards a different life.

As the path wound on, the number of colourful onlookers thinned, and only those making the long journey remained; each holding a single twine string attached to a white balloon. The glow of red lanterns disappeared and only the light of the Luminaria remained to compete with the light of a billion stars and the radiant moon. The buildings thinned until they disappeared, and those in dull colours stood at their destination.

The man awkwardly pulled the blue-eyed boy up onto his shoulders, the boy grabbed his father firmly around the head and looked up at the white balloon. A swell of tears built up in his bright, powder blue eyes, a perfect

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Imag[in]e: Aida Azin Verse Mag's regular student Art & Design feature

Just graduated from Honours at UniSA, Aida Azin's artwork brilliantly translates her view on identity and environment as she challenges themes of social and political justice.

Interview conducted by Sascha Tan | Work by Aida Azin

For the readers that haven’t yet come across your work, would you give us a little introduction?

My name’s Aida and I am an Adelaide-based visual artist. I work mainly in the discipline of painting. I’d describe the influences in my work as quite diverse; they range from concepts that touch on social justice to non-figurative abstraction.

Tell us about the first time you gravitated towards exploring your cultural identity in your art.

Around four years ago, I began to take more of an interest in my heritage when I started to notice that I was considerably more interested in it as a theme than my peers were. I’ve always been very sensitive to issues of social justice and I just assumed that it was because of my parents’ story of migration and settlement. Even now I still find their histories fascinating and so relevant to how I perceive the world and understand others.

I know many Asian-Australians, including myself, have been through the ol’ overwhelming stages of feeling disconnected to both cultures here and there, and whilst your work dwells upon your cultural identity, does such an identity crisis ever accompany the process?

I like this question because, yeah, I do. Especially because I don’t speak my parents’ languages I find it very challenging to claim my ethnicity. I explore this a lot in my paintings - even when I don’t want to.

Sometimes I just want to give people a break from it. But at the same time, the more I paint the more it validates my identity in a way - so I have to do it for myself.

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Any wise words for young Australians, particularly with other cultural heritages that might be going through the same confusion in their identity?

First off, I think that all young Australians should look at the true history of how Australia was founded so that they respect the land and the culture of the people they share it with. This is important for creating strength between first Australians and new migrants/people of mixed heritage.

I think that self-esteem and inner wisdom is the best way to deal with that weird confusion we’re talking about. It doesn’t mean that it will completely go away forever. It will come back over and over but that’s just life. When I was growing up I didn’t have many non-white people in my life that I could turn to.

That’s changed quite a bit now and people have come

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to understand how much it means to me to talk about a strange loneliness that I’m sensitive to. I’m really grateful for the network of artists and friends who have shown me support and empathy - I think they understand it even if they haven’t gone through it themselves. I think the younger generation of ethnic kids are probably living in a whole different Adelaide to what I was used to, but to anyone who does struggle from time to time, any creative outlet seems like the best place to start in boosting your self-esteem. Whether it’s practicing or supporting writing, music, film, drawing or sport; whatever it is, build a community with the people that you want to be around - people who are good for you.

Find a balance where you don’t have to assimilate to the old school British Australia but you don’t have to become a mascot for your heritage if you don’t want to either.

Whilst your style has developed over the years, I’ve also noticed that you have experimented with different mediums. Tell us about how your work has progressed as you’ve grown older.

I think you’re talking about the big bamboo structure I made for the UniSA Honours grad show. Last year I looked at the works of David Hammons and Fred Wilson and started to get an understanding of how racism has affected our perception of modernism and what we term as ‘high art’. It was an ode to every time I’ve been called ‘exotic’. The works in my practice seem to get bigger and bigger. I can never just make something clean cut and to the point. They’re always cluttered. I think that might be where my art is heading - somewhere toward anti elegance.

Much of your work is full of colour, what does this mean to you?

I think it’s a filthy compulsion. It hurts my eyes looking at my own work. Even in my everyday life I’m drawn to signs and characters that are bright and clashing. But I do like colourful art… like Sally Gabori in Australia, graffers on Instagram and Filipino artists like Carlo Ricafort and Pow Martinez.

What do you hope to see from yourself and your work in the coming years?

I really want to just DO more. I want to paint everyday and exhibit in Iran and the Philippines. I’ll probably go back to studying and do my masters one day too. Just paint more and learn more.

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The Queer Agenda The Rainbow Club offers their voice to the Queer Agenda post-marriage equality Words by the University of South Australia Rainbow Club

So, we've finally achieved marriage equality in Australia. The sky didn't fall in, and everything is all good. Or is it? Given that marriage equality became a high-profile issue for more than 13 years, one could be forgiven for thinking that the queer community now has everything it wanted. But the reality is that marriage equality isn't quite the pinnacle of civil rights it’s been made out to be. There's still a few things left on the ‘queer agenda’ to achieve.

Being queer isn't always glitter and rainbows (FYI: most glitter is non-biodegradable and terrible for the environment; rainbows though are completely eco-friendly!). It's okay though, there's always a bunch of people around to make sure we stay focused on achieving those #equality goals for the queer fam. For many, being at uni brings the freedom of self-expression that a school environment denied. The freedom to have multi-coloured hair, unusual piercings, make questionable fashion choices, be covered in tatts, and perhaps most importantly, freely express or explore gender identity and sexuality. For most, that's what uni is like. However, like other minority groups, queer students in particular face difficulties that the average student doesn't.

For some, it’s issues like what to do about the divisive topic of terminology. Is it okay to use the reclaimed term ‘queer’ knowing that it was still used as a slur a few decades ago, even though it is all-encompassing

and inclusive? And then there's the issue of what do about the ever-growing acronym that is now ‘LGBTTIQQAAP+’, often mocked for somehow being too inclusive by being too specific, and whether ‘A’ for allies should be included. The preferred term used in international human rights discourses is ‘sexual orientation and gender identity’, but a myriad of terms are in use by others. There’s no consensus within the community about which term is best, so it's better to ask people what their own preferred terms are, especially when it comes to gender identity pronouns. Fun fact: despite the insistence of many secondary school English teachers, the third-person singular epicene pronoun ‘they’ is indeed grammatically correct, and has been since the 14th century.

For others, it's a less understood issue. Life is filled with awkward moments and tricky situations, but those moments can be especially tough for those who are a minority within a minority. In May 2017, South Australia added the option for birth certificates to list a person's sex as either intersex, intermediate, non-binary, or unspecified. Sure, we've had an X option for Aussie passports since 2003, and Medicare since 2013, but Centrelink is yet to do the same. This means potentially missing out on often crucial payments like Youth Allowance or Austudy because this one detail doesn't identically match Centrelink’s files. When it comes to enrolling at most Australian universities, currently such

“Being outside the box is a popular phrase in the community, but a box can be essential for some.”

students need to choose from the options of male or female, and bravely risk the bureaucratic enrolment process, hoping that it goes smoothly. As is often the case though, they're refused enrolment because there's no box to tick. Being outside the box is a popular phrase in the community, but a box can be essential for some. In a step forward, the 2016 Census was the first to include an 'other’ option in addition to male or female on the online form, but only if participants called the Census hotline beforehand and requested a unique access code. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, this meant that for the first time, Census statistics specifically included 1300 ‘other’ online responses, and approximately 2400 paper responses where the male and female boxes had both been ticked.

Here's a pretty standard scenario familiar to many in the community: Imagine that you're having a hard time, so you go have a chat with someone whose job it is to help. You go in, tell them that you have a specific issue that directly relates to you being queer (e.g. hearing homophobic comments in a tute). Unfortunately, you're refused help by either being convinced that whatever issue you're having isn't serious enough to warrant action, or you're outright rejected on the basis of that person having a moral objection to your sexuality or gender identity. You feel worse than you did before, and you'd like to just go somewhere you’d feel safe on-campus, but there's no designated queer space.

That's the situation faced by many queer students across Australia.

But the issues don't just stop there. For people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, the issues are further complicated. Religion, culture, and traditions affect how people define and show their sexuality and gender identity. In 2017, the decision of a local council to add black and brown bands to represent race in the rainbow flag divided opinions about whether additional stripes are appropriate. An alternative design of the six-band rainbow flag has in its centre a black circle surrounding a raised fist with a striped gradient of six skin tones of dark brown to light beige to represent racial and ethnic diversity.

It's easy to dismiss all of this as being unnecessary philosophical identity politics, but sadly, these aren't hypothetical scenarios from some gender studies tute exercise. They've happened, and are happening. But not for much longer. The fight isn't over yet. There's still a fair few things on the agenda.

The Death of Alexander Hamilton A short story that questions the validity of violence as an answer Words by Mark Vawser | Illustration by Dallas Nery

West Bank of the Hudson River, New Jersey, 11th July 1804.

I turned to see my friend of more than twenty years preparing to shoot me. Vice President Aaron Burr, having rebuffed all overtures of peace, insisted on this duel. It was after all, a matter of honour. Burr stood across the field, shadows from a copse of trees darkening his grim expression. A slight tremor in his hands the only indication of a conflict in his mind. How had it come to this? Through revolutionary war and burgeoning government, Burr was there dogging my heels. Encouraging, motivating, and criticizing my every step, my every action. Best of friends, and worst of enemies.

One. Two. Three. Our men stood under the shade of the trees and began to count to ten. The doctor turned his back to maintain deniability. Our places were set, our pistols loaded. A cruel ball of lead packed against volatile gunpowder, eager to be dispensed with loud finality. Most disputes don’t get this far. The mere prospect of a duel was enough to satisfy honour, but not this time. I would not back down to Burr.

Four. Five. Six. My chest tightened with righteous indignation. I was right to support his rival, Burr would have made a terrible president. He had no stance, only misdirection and obfuscation. Our new nation needed a president with vision, not a man who sought power for powers sake. No, I will not let him blame me for his failures. I outstretched my arm in defiance. Burr would not be my downfall.

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Seven. Eight. I let out the air I held in my chest, steadying my aim and drawing in my final breath.

My vision blurred and a thought unbidden sprung into my mind. My stomach dropped accordingly. Philip, my poet, my pride, my son. I stood mere meters away from the spot where he perished. A victim of pride, both his and mine. Shot dead in a duel at age nineteen. He followed my advice. He rose his gun to the sky and threw away his shot. That should have been the end of the matter but his opponent fired true. My son dead by my own hubris.

Nine. My wife Eliza lost a son and still comforted a cursed husband. She brought me back from the depths of despair and placed me on the straightened path.

I gripped my pistol tighter and set my jaw. Burr would not prevent me from returning to my Eliza.

Ten. In that final moment, I thought not of Burr but of Philip and my final words to him. I raised my gun to the sky and fired my shot to the heavens.

A bullet struck my lower abdomen. I fell to the leaflittered ground, taking in a shuddering breath. I raised my head to see a look of pure shock on dear Burr’s face.

He fell to his knees, pistol rolling from his limp hand. The pain faded as I thought of Eliza. Fear not my dear wife, I thought, for I’m off to see our son. I whispered her name, Eliza. Best of wives and best of women.

Shooting star, increasing its distance from me, in the darkness of the night sky, I lie awake, unblinking and unyielding, I struggle, I reminisce on the mistakes.

The crashing of waves, the destruction of love, The empty promises, the tide approaching shore, Only to be retracted and washed away instead, back towards the darkness of the abyss, A mess of rhythmic uniformity.

Sure, there’s lots of stars in the night sky, ‘Plenty of fish in the sea’, But you seemed like, Just ‘the one for me’.

What was once as soft and enveloping, As fresh snow upon the mountain, Slowly gave way, To melt instead, Developing into a corrosive force of water, Slowly eroding whatever is in its path.

What was once a sign of hope, a shooting star, ‘Maybe we elope’, Instead becomes a mere passing glimmer, Of what could have been.

The love that burns brightest, The star that burns fastest, To fall into a doomed love.

The risks we take, When we wish upon a shooting star.

Shooting Star A textual intervention of John Keates' "Bright Star"

Childhood dreams, Adult realities, The entropy of relationships, Love lived and love lost, Constantly moving towards a state of disorder, Fading, fading, Gone.

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Being an Australian Writer in 2018 Passion versus Adversity Words by David Bucio-Lueza | Illustration by Jasmin Green

Is 2018 a good time to be a writer?

Well, Ben Stubbs thought it was a good time to be a writer, Dr Kiera Lindsey regarded being a writer as an honour, and Stephen Orr said there have been worse times. But, are these Australian authors right? Let us explore briefly what it takes to be a writer in Australia.

Sales The Australian book industry is in decline. A major problem is the uneven playing field between local retailers and their global competitors. For example, if you buy a book at Amazon - the biggest book retailer worldwide - you will find it cheaper because you don’t have to pay the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

According to a recent survey by the Australian Council for the Arts, 40 per cent of book purchases in Australia are made through online websites. Australian people like reading. The problem is that they are not buying enough books from local retailers, therefore having an impact on the whole industry.

Also, more and more large publishing houses, as well as department stores like Big W, are making decisions based on sales and marketing data, rather than on literary motives. Why does this affect authors? Well, the number of titles on the shelves is limited to top-list authors, therefore reducing chances for other authors and genres; particularly the literary fiction and poetry

genres, which have become less popular in recent times.

Orr said the smaller publishers are the ones “putting out the best writing.” One of these publishers is Michael Bollen from Wakefield Press, who believes publishing good books is the best way to boost literature, beyond income expectations.

Legislation The possibility of law changes is another issue against authors. These changes include to remove the Parallel Import Restrictions (PIR) on books.

The PIR ban local retailers from importing books for sale in Australia – within 30 days - if those books were published overseas and in Australia. The removal of the PIR would help local booksellers to offer cheaper books, but it would further affect the revenue of publishers and writers.

Wages The average income of local authors is A$13,000.

Orr said that if you are not a top-list author, you would need a second job to survive.

“Even a great writer like Frank Moorhouse recently admitted… that after fifty years of writing he is now broke… Of course, you can spend your days applying for every grant going, but that’s a major contraceptive to any idea of creativity” Orr said.

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Then why do writers write?

If you’re still reading these lines, you might be asking yourself that question, and maybe Stubbs had the best answer.

“I love writing. It’s what gets me up in the morning.”

“If I make a little bit of money from it… it’s great. But if it doesn’t, I’d still do it.”

And perhaps the current conditions are not as bad as they seem, in comparison to other times.

Orr wondered, “Was it ever a good time?”

“Australian writers in the forties and fifties had it worse, with very few local publishers, and everyone reading overseas books” Orr said.

Dr Lindsey -an expert of Australian history - says now there is a “highly literary marketplace”, whereas in the nineteenth century there were “thousands and thousands of people who couldn’t read.”

“If you look at the Australian environment, we have a Writers’ Festival in most large cities… So, there’s a lot of platforms…”

The Books Create Australia campaign said about 300,000 people attend our Writers’ Festivals each year.

“We have more stories that need to be told, more stories that need to be explored and addressed… I can’t see how it could be a bad time to be writer!” Dr Lindsey said.

No room for bad writers But, regardless of time, you have to work hard on your writing skills.

“You’re not going to become Hemingway overnight”. “(I)f each day, you spend an hour tied to the chair… and you write, your writing is going to improve a little bit” Dr Lindsey said.

And Orr’s advice is about an essential element which everybody seems to overlook: grammar.

“Listen to your English teacher and work out the difference between affect and effect! (and a thousand other grammatical screw-ups I see every day)” Orr said.

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Don't give up on your dreams Orr recommends aspiring authors to follow their dreams despite adversities.

“Don’t buy the line that writers need to cater to the market. Cater to your own interests. Better failing at that than becoming some sort of ficto-robot. Accept that yours will be a difficult life, financially insecure, full of self-doubt and difficulty.”

“Better a well-crafted sentence than a new Porsche” Orr said.

Beware of social media Nowadays, readers review their books, tweet during book events, and have their say on YouTube. Social media and the Internet are essential for writers in their self-promotion. Despite this, authors have become wary of readers’ feedback as it might play against you at times.

“It’s not worth getting angry about.”

“People are entitled to their opinion, and any writer who wants to keep their sanity shouldn’t look at any, anyway.”

“With Ticket to Paradise (Stubbs’ first book)… when I started radio interviews, one night, people were sending feedback and it got me really anxious, because I felt like I had to defend it and everything” Stubbs said.

Encore Dr Lindsey told me a story about the brilliant English writer G.K. Chesterton: He was once invited to Cambridge to talk to a group of aspiring writers and he was asked, “What is your advice?” Chesterton walked down the aisle as everybody was trembling with excitement. He took the podium, looked around at all these people, and he pronounced only these words, “So you want to write… then go home and bloody well write”.

Blackout When the power dies, things come alive Poem by Isobel Logan | Image by Chandler Saing

The house is too quiet, too still for my liking, The fridge has stopped humming and The taps now run dry.

The pump has gone silent, and The rooms hold no sound.

The windows, thrown open, they let in the sun, The rustle of leaves in the breeze, and The vibrating buzz of bees flying past.

The whoosh of cars on the road above, and The purr of a cat, so content in my lap.

The noise of the world slowly creeps, now inside.

The chatter of birds, and The tick of the clock.

The house is still quiet, but more alive than I thought

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V

X: Student Voice Looking to these Verse contributors to be inspired and motivated!

Nicholas Kretschmer What is the creative process like for you?

I work best creatively if I have an idea and plan of what I want to express laid out. I feel my creative side is continually evolving and maturing.

A strong passion for design, architecture and cities keeps me motivated.

If you could only experience one medium of art for the rest of your life what would you choose?

Phillip K Dicks 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' and the subsequent Blade Runner films I find myself thinking back - the settings depicted are gripping and serves as a warning to what an unplanned, disconnected city could develop into.

Jessie Salamon What is the creative process like for you?

My creative process is a very emotional one so I tend to write things I feel most passionate about and things I feel a deep connection with. I always relate my writing to touch, vision, smell, taste and sound as much as I possibly can and I feel as if music and places are the best possible way to navigate around my writing. Dissecting new albums and finding new cities, beaches and parks will always be a major part of my creative process when I first start writing a new piece.

What's a work of art/writing that you love, and why?

A massive piece of art of that has been my inspiration for literally years now is a band named PVRIS. The lyrical content, the creative vision provided in their videos, the meaning of their music and the aesthetic of the band is how I picture my writing. They make the simplest of problems, emotions, outcomes and feelings into massive symphonies’ of absolute pure bliss.

If I’m EVER struggling to write anything, PVRIS is always the first thing I turn to. I definitely aspire to have the same incredible ability to make words sound so beautiful.

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Alexandra Misic What is the creative process like for you?

My creative process is both spontaneous and selective, based on events and experiences around me. Most of my thoughts, ideas, characters and plots come to me at night just as I'm trying to fall asleep - I keep a journal by my bed to quickly jot these down as some scenes are hard to recollect in the morning.

What work of art/writing are you inspired by?

Poetry and random quotes - so much can be said with so little words!

And also different TV series - am such a period drama and crime buff that I always pick up simple ideas that I weave into my writing.

If you could only experience one medium of art for the rest of your life what would you choose?

Books, books and more books! Am such and avid reader - needless to say my favourite pastime!

David Bucio-Lueza What is the creative process like for you?

Daily life is a great source of ideas. When I am able to link my memories with ordinary events, I know I have the spark for writing a good story.

My challenge is to turn these somewhat mundane facts into engaging narratives. This way: first, my readers can perceive the honesty in my words; secondly, they might feel themselves identified with my stories if they have experienced similar situations.

What work of art/writing are you inspired by?

I love Latin American literature. The novel ‘Hopscotch’ by the Argentinian writer Julio Cortazar really changed my life. It is a basic reading to understand what art is – the incessant search of an artist’s mind to open new possibilities of creation.

Download your o t s e t a d r e t s e m e s y ke ! r a d n le a c e n o h p r u yo

1. From your phone go to USASA.sa.edu.au/Calendar 2. Select your study period/s 3. Click 'add all' Enjoy 100% more organisation for 2018

Meet Your Student Reps!

The reps are elected by you to represent your interests on campus. Their aim is to inspire and empower students to speak up and have their voices heard.

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Hello!

The team at Verse is delighted to introduce Jordan Mumford, the upcoming University of South Australia Student Association President for 2018!

What are you studying?

Bachelor of Aviation!

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

Having spent my first two years at university involved and engaged in campus life, I decided to run to become a campus representative for Mawson Lakes in 2016. After spending a productive year on the USASA board, I felt like I still had more work to do, so I decided to run to be your 2018 student president.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I hope to work productively with the rest of the 2018 board to ensure that USASA is an organisation which is relevant to the needs of UniSA students. Some of my key goals are to provide better funding and support to clubs, increasing student engagement, as well as expanding the free breakfast program.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Make sure to get involved in the non-academic side of campus life, where you can learn new skills and meet great people. Whether it is joining a USASA club, going on a study tour or overseas exchange, or seeking out volunteering opportunities, there is so much to campus life than lectures and tutorials.

Where is your favourite place to go in Adelaide/ Whyalla/Mount Gambier?

I​ love the Adelaide Hills, and there is nothing better for clearing the mind than a drive through the hills.

To all the new students of 2018, on behalf of myself and USASA, welcome to UniSA! To everyone returning from holidays - welcome back, and I’d also like to extend a special welcome to those of you reading this on our regional campuses.

You’re probably wondering why I’m writing to you, so let me take a minute of your time to explain. My name is Jordan Mumford, and I’m the President of the UniSA Student Association. USASA is here for students, through the good times and the bad. We are a nonprofit student-run organisation focused on providing services to, as well as being a voice for students. USASA is made up of a Board of 14 students elected by you, as well as a heap of hard-working staff who deliver the events, projects, and the support you need!

Still with me? Sweet! If you’re keen to jump straight in to the social side of uni, then I have great news for you!

USASA throws heaps of great events throughout the year, including UniTopia, free BBQ’s, pub crawls, and tonnes more. Our PAC-MAN themed pub crawl is coming up soon, so make sure you get your shirts early, and come party with your fellow UniSA students. We’ll also be on campus for a bunch of other events, so make sure to come along and say g’day to your USASA campus representatives. USASA also supports nearly 100 student clubs, varying from cultural clubs, faith-based clubs, activity clubs, issue-based clubs, and political clubs. These are a great place to meet new people and learn new skills, so if you’re keen to get involved you can find a full list of clubs on our website. USASA also has counters on every campus where you can grab some freebies (make sure you do), chat with fellow UniSA students, and find the answers to any questions you might have.

While it might not feel like it now, there can be times when University life is a struggle - and like I said before we are here to help you in the good, as well as the bad. USASA’s advocacy team can provide you with free confidential advice on a whole range of academic problems, and their support has helped hundreds of students. The University also offers a free counselling service, as well as a bunch of academic support services.

These services are there to make your uni experience easier, so don’t be afraid to use them.

USASA also works with the National Union of Students (NUS) to make sure than your voices are heard on a national level. Last year, the Liberal government continued its attacks on students, trying to further cut funding to Australian universities, as well as attempting to massively reduce the HECS repayment threshold meaning you’ll have to pay back your degree sooner.

While we’ve all been enjoying our Christmas break, the Liberals have been planning further cuts to higher education and student welfare in 2018. However, USASA will remain vigilant and will continue to work alongside our National Union in 2018 to continue to make sure your voices are heard, and ensure the Liberals can’t get their rotten agenda through parliament.

Well, you’ve finally made it to the end. Thank you for giving me a couple of minutes of your time. Let me wrap up by saying that no matter what you’re studying or how you got here, I hope you all settle into university well and have a fantastic 2018 at UniSA. I’m looking forward to meeting you all throughout the year, and I’ll speak to you in the next President Column. Peace.

- Jordan Mumford

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Kate Riggall | Postgraduate Representative

Pamela Spek | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

My research aims to investigate a potential EEG biomarker of healthy cognitive development in children, which might mediate the relationship between home environment, cognitive performance and learning outcomes, and might one day be used to identify children at risk of poor development, and inform the timing and nature of interventions to support their development.

Psychological Science (Counselling and interpersonal skills)

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I'm passionate about student safety and wellbeing, connecting students to the services they need, creating a level playing field for minority and marginalized students, increasing student input and engagement with the university and student union, and providing events to suit postgraduate lifestyles, so we can engage in campus culture on our terms. I will aim to cement and build on the achievements of the previous representatives, to take concrete steps towards these goals. I also aim to advocate for a UniSA that's responsive to student needs and priorities, and focused around students' well-being and success.

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

I wanted to become a student representative to hopefully make some change and improve the voice of indigenous students at university and hopefully make sure all campuses indigenous students have what they need.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I am hoping to aim to have a larger presence on campus as an indigenous representative. And also to aim to have a higher knowledge of indigenous topics around university and make sure there is communication between the three major universities of South Australia.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Find your balance between both uni and social life. If you don’t have the right balance, no matter what way it skews, you will crash and burn.

If you were a bird, what type of bird would you be?

Probably sleep anyway.

I would be an emu just because I am afraid of heights, so not being able to fly would be great.

Contact | kate.riggall@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Contact | spepa003@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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Abid Billah | International Representative

Natansh Modi | City East Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

Masters of Professional Accounting

Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) & Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science Double Degree

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

To give something back to UNISA and to be a voice for all international students and achieve something that will have a lasting impact in the university.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

More inclusive events that cater to the sensitivities of our diverse group of students. Work towards boosting base line club funding and make sure club executives are properly trained and accountable to its members.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Do not, follow any advice - including mine. It is your life, set your priorities and have YOUR adventures, make YOUR mistakes and learn from them. Have no regrets.

What’s your best tip to de-stress?

Hit the gym, go for a Hot Yoga to sweat the stress out and read a book to calm the wandering mind.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I want to make sure that more student voices are present on a whole range of different forums, because vast majority of decisions being taken by the University directly affects the students. Ensuring that the students have a fair say in decision making process is an integral part of USASA’s vision.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Steering clear from platitudes, I would like to advise that it is always important to keep track of your journey.

Compare your study behaviour from the beginning of the year to the end of the year and this can be done by keeping a journal where you compile your study behaviour. Once you look back properly, you will able to make correct adjustments which will help in your studies for next year.

What’s your best tip to de-stress?

Do whatever you feel like, whether it is playing games, taking naps or watching television that does the trick. Do not try to follow someone else’s de-stress tip. Experiment and figure out the most optimal trick for you.

Contact | bilay007@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Contact | modnd001@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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Hoang Thinh (Timothy) Pham | City East Undergraduate Representative

Qihua (Zelda) Zheng | City West Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours)

I am currently studying the Master of Management.

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

I would like to give back to my university community, improve the university experience that my fellow students would have during their study time in our university.

I am passionate about improving students’ university life, enriching their experience, enlarging their social network and helping them make their voice heard in USASA, NUS and even outside Uni. I also want to challenge myself and make our university a better place.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

More vibrant campus, more activities on campus, more support for clubs, strengthens the relationship between domestic students and international students.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?​ Do enjoy every single moment of your university life, study hard, go out more with friends because you will realise how short your university journey is when you are nearly at the end.

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? ​ I​ would like to learn another language, probably Chinese or Thai because I know the importance of knowing an extra language especially Chinese is spoken very widely in our world.

Contact | phahy017@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I will work on engaging more students with uni-activities and improving students’ welfare. Most importantly, I will work flat out to increase voluntary, internship and job opportunities for students in UniSA. What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Don’t say no to any experience. You would never know what would happen even with a small step forward. Join as many extracurricular activities as possible and meet as many new people as possible.

If you were a bird, what type of bird would you be? ​ Early bird. I am not a night owl, but I always struggle to get up earlier than 7am, which has never happened if there is nothing important. It is said those successful people would fully make use of their morning time.

Contact | zheqy016@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Bridget Barletta | City West Undergraduate Representative

Grace Dixon | Mawson Lakes Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

Currently, I’m in my second year of a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) and Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) double degree.

Bachelor of Aviation – Management

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

I have always had a passion for UniSA! I believe with the hard work and dedication of students and staff, UniSA can absolutely be recognized as the leading University in SA, and become the place where everybody wants to study. Over the last two years of my degree, I have had a lot of discussions with students about ideas and improvements the University could make, and want to try my best to represent students in all matters concerning University and the student experience!

Where is your favourite place to go in Adelaide?​ This is soo tricky! I love being outdoors. Although, I would have to say my most visited place is the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Seriously, pick up a book or do some study here, you will not regret it!

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

Seeing all the work and effort that Jordan Mumford put into being representative at Mawson Lakes made me want to continue on his legacy and encourage more people in our cohort to get more involved in university activities and issues.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I want to help reinvigorate campus life by working to increase funding to clubs meaning more dynamic campus at Mawson Lakes with more frequent events and student involvement.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Start your assignments before the final week, and organise a time with your lecturer to look over a draft copy to ensure you’re on the right track.

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time? ​ Become a professional dancer, it has always been my dream.

Contact | barba006@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Contact | dixgl001@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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Sneha Manimurugan | Mawson Lakes Undergraduate Representative

Ryan Colsey | Magill Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

I am in the third year of my Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) degree. I major in Mechatronics.

Bachelor of Journalism and Professional Writing, Bachelor of Arts (International Relations).

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

What can you achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

I felt like it was important to reach out to the student community and make their lives in UniSA more enriching and joyous. The best way I thought I could do this was by being their representative. I also wanted to enhance the campus culture at Mawson Lakes and ensure that the students feel a sense of belonging to where they spend most of their time every day.

I would like to improve the student experience at UniSA. Through things like events and better engagement I would like to see an increase in the numbers of students on campus and the amount of time they spent here. This would see an improved atmosphere, and an increased likelihood of students getting together and creating or joining clubs. I would also like to see more student input into decisions that affect students.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Network and make friends! Don’t always stay in your own clique. This will definitely help you in the future, even if you don’t see its value now. Also, don’t forget to study!

Look outwards. There’s more to university than just academia and finishing assignments at 4:59pm on a Friday. Join UniSA Sport, join a USASA Club, do volunteering, become an academic rep, go on exchange, do a leadership program –there are so many opportunities here. Doing these things is a great way of making new friends and having a more positive university experience.

What have you been watching or listening to recently?​ Silicon Valley! Maybe I am late to the party (for those of you who have already seen it) but for those who have not, do watch it because it’s so good!

If you were a bird, what type of bird would you be? ​ A parrot because I like impersonating people.

Contact | mansy060@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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Contact | colrm002@mymail.unisa.edu.au

Surabhi Shubraj | Magill Undergraduate Representative

Kemal Brkic | Whyalla Representative

What are you studying?

What are you studying?

Third Year Social Work.

Education (Primary)

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

What made you want to become a Student Representative?

Passion to work with students and advocate for student rights on campus.

Third year running and loving it, I want to get the best from my uni experience.

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

What do you aim to achieve for UniSA students in 2018?

Actively engage with students through out the year to increase student participation with USASA.

Fun, fairness, food.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Live a well-balanced life; university work is pleasure when we have a supported social life.

Where is your favourite place to go in Adelaide?

Long Lost friend on Magill Road & Argo Café on the Parade.

What's your best piece of advice for your fellow students?

Do some work each day, don’t waste a minute, get up earlier if you have to.

If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

Form a band and rock all night.

Contact | brkky001@mymail.unisa.edu.au Contact | shusy008@mymail.unisa.edu.au

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UNILODGE @ METRO ADELAIDE

ONE QUESTION: WHERE WILL YOU FEEL MOST CONNECTED? Get 100GB of high speed internet every month!

With great facilities – and the buzz of the CBD just moments away – UniLodge @ Metro Adelaide is where you can live a life connected.

Open for inspection Mon-Fri 8.30am to 4.30pm

30 Victoria Street, Adelaide SA 5000 +61 8 8385 9000 metroadelaide @unilodge.com.au unilodge.com.au

March Verse Edition 21 Deadline Whether you’re new to UniSA, or you’ve been here for ten years, get typing, doodling, painting and submit something by the March 26 Deadline!

VerseMag.com.au/Submit

What the heck is there to do around here? These things.

2nd - 18th: Adelaide Festival

6th: Magill Campus Fair 8th: City West Campus Fair 9th - 12th: WOMADelaide 12th: Adelaide Cup Public Holiday 13th: Mawson Lakes Campus Fair 15th: City East Campus Fair 26th: Verse Ed #21 Submission Deadline 30th: Club & Leadership Grant application deadline 30th: Good Friday Public Holiday

April Pac-Crawl Pubcrawl 2nd: Easter Monday Public Holiday The all campus pubcrawl is back and bigger than ever!

Join us for a night of drink specials, free food & games!

Friday April 6, 7pm til late. USASA.sa.edu.au/PubCrawl $20 Shirts available online until March 18.

6th: Pac-Crawl Pubcrawl 9th - 20th: SP2 Teaching Break

13th - 22nd: Tasting Australia Festival

25th: ANZAC Day 27th: Club & Leadership Grant application deadline If you’d like to organise an event, join or start a club! Visit USASA.sa.edu.au/clubs

The Last Plum Journal Entry, 5th of September 1959 Words by Alexandra Misic | Illustration by Kyiandra Thanou

What a glorious evening I must say! Simply glorious!

It was - shall we say - such a productive evening for me… I feel I have finally achieved a little comeuppance on my good fellow Lord Edgar. My! How I have distaste for that little man.

The world has now lost this delicacy… I still cannot fathom how or why… this new murderous disease has finally gotten to all the plums in the world… and I have been unable to find a cure and stop its extinction.

I have failed.

He thought that the evening would be such a spectacular finale! All of us gathered to admire the last remaining few plums known to man – plums which he had twisted into gaining ownership of.

To think! No more plum jam, plum tarts or plum pies!

Children all over the world will be singing Little Jack Horner pulling out a plum… but not know what a plum is, nor having ever tasted one.

I arrived to a smoky room at about 7pm. The room was full of chatter, the ladies dressed to impress. I could hear Simone crooning in the background singing of lost love. But all I could think about was those plums.

"I can still smell the plum pie we used to have every Sunday!"

“Professor Peterborough old chap! Or should I say Plum -borough…Ha Ha! So good of you to come.

Please, let’s get you some champagne”.

Plumborough – yes that’s what Lord Edgar had called me. That’s what they all call me behind my back.

I have spent all my life devoted to the studies of horticulture and most passionately pomology.

I am known all over England and I dare say the world knows me.

Why you might say? Why might a man study plums?

Well that is something many do not know. They have simply not bothered to ask when they snigger behind their backs at a man like me.

Growing up I didn’t have much. But what I did have was a loving mother and father. My, how I miss those summers! Mother used to pick all the plums off our tree. She was so ingenious! I can still smell the plum pie we used to have every Sunday! Those were such memorable moments. Having scraped and saved and believed in my education, my scholarship to Oxford meant so much to them. They died in my first year…. leaving me all alone. I study plums with such love and passion – for them.

And now that brings me to tonight. I vanished from the party and stole to the kitchen. There I found the icebox, opened it up and saw the last remaining three plums. They were mine! I was not going to let Lord Edgar have them. How dare he be the one who has them for breakfast, when it is me to which they should belong. I gobbled one up, careful not to let the juice spill down my chin. I put the stone and the other two in my pocket before I made my way out the door to the car waiting for me.

I am only sorry I will not have the chance to see Lord Edgar’s face and that of his stuffy friends when he brings the plums out to raise a toast to a fruit that is now gone. I only hope he reads my note out aloud to everyone.

My last hurrah!

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That Time We Were Infinite Poem by Emma Carrigan | Photography by Dallas Nery

Hundreds of hands sky high – reaching.

Reaching for something, yet nothing at all.

Beat. Beat. Beat. The poison drum tears us apart. It leaves us raw.

Raw under the watchful eye of the infinite sun The watchful eye that has seen each life come, each life go.

Beat. Beat. Beat. With each note the fire within burns stronger – Bodies compressed but souls free All different but all the same.

All the same and all hungry – yearning for a meal we cannot attain.

Sweat, tears, laughs and cries keep us full for a sweet moment, An infinite moment – Raw. Mortal. Alive. Dancing under the eternal gaze of late afternoon sun As it slips, tonight and forever, beneath the silky horizon.

Review Seven Days, Seven Sins, Seven Breakfasts Words by Simon Telford | Illustrations by Sascha Tan

Monday - Sloth

Tuesday - Lust

Wednesday - Wrath

It’s Monday, no thanks. As a certain overweight ginger cat said on more than one occasion, “I hate Mondays.” It is important to note that nothing in the history of the universe has ever been achieved of any great importance on a Monday morning. Your breakfast is no exception. Sloth is completely accepted by all people of right mind and common sense on a Monday. Recommended cereals are those with enough sugar to make you resemble a functional human being or alternatively you may go for a healthier option and try some bran that tastes like the box it came in.

Lust is in the air. You’ve never wanted that sweet, sexy weekend more than you do on a Tuesday.

Now that Monday’s horror is nothing more than a mere shadow lurking in your memory, you can now finally get back into some sort of routine. Brush your hair, apply your face scrub and pick out some clothes that don’t have the tell-tale curry stains of someone who hates doing washing as much as they hate doing the dishes. Treat yourself to a rich and tantalising breakfast of pancakes with strawberries, whipped cream and syrup. Now that breakfast is finished, get out there and werk.

So, Tuesday was filled with the highs of expectation, of wants and needs. You lusted and were lusted after. Well good for you, because now hump day is here to f**k your sh*t up. Waking up and realising it’s only the middle of the week is a sure-fire way to bring out some wrath. BEWARE: As great philosophers and authors have told us for eternity, evil will always turn on evil, or something along those lines. Your wrath bubbling under the surface will bubble in your stomach after angrily gnashing down a nasty breakfast burrito.

As you walk to the bus stop, just daring some a**hole to give you a cheery “Happy Humpday!”

We have all been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day; but with so many options to choose from when it comes to that first bite in the morning, how can anyone decide? I’m here to simplify things for the sleepy bed-haired student who needs to wipe that crusty stuff out of their left eye, by reviewing what breakfast works the best on what day and which sinful state of mind you should be in to do it.

Thursday - Pride

Friday - Greed

Saturday - Gluttony

You’ve made it this far, congratulations, you should be proud of yourself. The working week is almost over, if you are blessed to have a weekday job squeezed around your studies.

A late lecture can only mean one thing; you’re headed down to that café, which pays its rent through your coffee purchases alone, and purchasing a plate of Eggs Benedict. During breakfast, be sure to recap all that you’ve achieved this week and any future opportunities you may have to your friend sitting opposite you. Don’t forget the obligatory Instagram picture.

Fri-yay! Think of all the possibilities tonight and the weekend holds. You visualise hundreds of scenarios as you spring out of bed, and you want them all. There’s only one coffee pod left in your share house but you’re going to take it anyway, who cares, it’s Friday! On the train you’ll sit back, take up two seats and think of all that the weekend owes you. There is only one breakfast that can suit your mood, a greedy plate-full of Avocado and Poached Eggs. You, greedy millennial, you.

Saturdays are for the breakfast. A real breakfast, a gluttonous barrage of artery clogging goodness.

Saturdays are for excess. Lots of toast, lots of egg, lots of bacon and all the sides. Lots of Sun, lots of fun, lots of everything on Saturdays. You have permission to be a glutton for one day of the week, and today is the day. Uni can be put aside, that family lunch can be skipped, all in the name of personal indulgence, whatever that may be.

Sunday - Envy Speaks for itself really. This is the time you envy everyone who didn’t go out last night. Sundays suck.

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The Signs As: Characters in The Room (2003) Words and Illustration by Sascha Tan

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ARIES

TAURUS

GEMINI

Flower Shop Lady

Mike

Lisa

Always smells nice Lets their pet walk all over them A little slow

Terrible at telling stories Struggles to juggle their relationships

Tears people apart Gets bored easily Lies to make things interesting Unconcerned

CANCER

LEO

VIRGO

Johnny

The Football

Peter

Wears convertible clothing Ambitious Misunderstood Is fed up with this world

Appears out of nowhere Tries to be the life of the party

Provides solid advice Compassionate But also very clumsy

LIBRA

SCORPIO

SAGITTARIUS

Steven

Claudette

Denny

Worries a little too much Wants to know everything and anything

Has an ego too big for their own good Doesn't believe in true love Involves themselves in everything

Likes to watch people Will throw a football at you Tends to always third wheel

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

PISCES

Chris R

Michelle

Mark

Always impatient Thinks they're really hard, but is actually a real softie

Consumes too much chocolate Very understanding A little kinky

Always confused Can't take a hint!

A good friend, maybe Looks great in formal attire

March 21 - April 20

June 22 - July 23

September 24 - October 23

December 22 - January 20

April 21 - May 21

July 24 - August 23

October 24 - November 22

January 21 - February 19

May 22 - June 21

August 24 - September 23

November 23 - December 21

February 20 - March 20

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Make a mix of new friends!

Make friends with like-minded people, celebrate a culture & boost your resume by joining a student-run club! Pick from a mix of more than 90 special interest, cultural, academic & social justice clubs.

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To join a club visit USASA.sa.edu.au/Clubs

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