The Flannel - 2020 Edition

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The 2020 Flannel Team Cerys Wiles ................ Head Layout and Design Editor Beanie Lee .......................... Layout and Design Editor Caitlin Matheson ............... Layout and Design Editor Cerys Wiles .................................. Head Article Editor Jacob Baddeley ..................................... Article Editor Ian Blackburn ................... Extras and One-Off Editor Pierson Palmer .................. Extras and One-Off Editor Kyle Webb .................. Advisor and Best Human Ever

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Contents

The Flannel Speaks ..........................................................................................................

What’s Hot/Not ................................................................................................................

Questions to the Editors .................................................................................................

The Local List ...................................................................................................... Music Jojo’s Bizarre Masculinity .................................................................. Sex & Sexuality That’s The Problem With Porn ......................................................... Sex & Sexuality Biphobia .............................................................................................. Sex & Sexuality Friend or Fetish .................................................................................. Sex & Sexuality Mum Why Don’t The People On TV Look Like Me ...........................................Arts Student Art ............................................................................................................. Arts Love and Art .......................................................................................................... Arts Music Reviews .................................................................................................... Music Appreciation VS Appropriation .......................................... Arts/History & Politics Privlege VS Prejudice .................................................................... History & Politics Is Mary Jane Coming To New Zealand ....................................... History & Politics Hormones and Politics .................................................................. History & Politics Chile; Time For A Change? .......................................................... History & Politics Outbreak ......................................................................................... History & Politics Playlists - Music For Your Mood ...................................................................... Music Private to Public ................................................................................................ School Post-WHS Survival Guide ............................................................................... School Which Decade Are You ....................................................................................... Quiz Skatestyle ............................................................................................................. Sports Find Your Indie Band Name ............................................................................... Quiz Drugs and Sport ................................................................................................. Sports Music Reviews .................................................................................................... Music WHS Fashion .................................................................................................. Fashion How To Ethically Funk Up Your Wardrobe ................................................ Fashion Film ......................................................................................................................... Arts Theatre .................................................................................................................... Arts Tomorrow’s News .............................................................................................. Media Facetune .............................................................................................................. Media Love Island .......................................................................................................... Media Tunnel O’ Terror ............................................................. Crime Serial Killers .................................................................... Crime Slenderman Stabbing ..................................................... Crime Horoscopes ...................................................................................

Puzzles ...........................................................................................

The Flannel Bunch .......................................................................

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THE FLANNEL SPEAKS 2020: what the hell happened Some of the shit that has happened this year: Wildfires turned our skies an apocalyptic orange, Hong Kong saw its democracy and freedoms slip away leading to mass protest, a global pandemic that shut us away in our homes, (Murder Hornets!!!) and a long overdue reckoning with systematic racism turned violent.

Not only was this this year full of disheartening and dire news, but this news had a tangible effect on us. For 7 weeks, we were told to stay inside, in the middle of our school year. The pandemic took a lot from us, not only did it have a human toll but we had to watch as the days ticked by, unable to get a proper education. For many in the senior school this has no doubt had a major effect on grades and on our lives in general. The mental health impact that COVID-19 had varied person to person but there is no doubt that it had an effect.

With such a large disruption to school our learning has no doubt suffered. Lockdown was unprecedented and left teachers scrambling to find creative ways to teach. The extra credits we’re all receiving will help it is likely many students will still be worse off as a result. There simply isn’t a good substitute for in person learning.

Added on top of our already tough academic year, lockdown also effectively ended our social lives. Forcing us to use online means to stay in touch with friends and extended family. Zoom became a haven for students to stay in touch, shifting the way we communicated with each other. One thing is for sure, teens are not supposed to go so long without seeing friends in person.

Even putting aside all of the global crises, it has been an eventful year here at Wellington High School. It was announced that much of our school must be rebuilt, to accommodate our swelling roll. Meaning we will likely have to say goodbye to our much maligned (but highly underrated) Neo-Brutalist tower blocks. With an election coming up we have been visited by politicians, including the Prime Minister, who have discussed issues such as the upcoming cannabis referendum.

In this edition of The Flannel we have included many wonderful articles written by students from the Year 12 & 13 journalism class, advice on what’s hot, a selection of art, a survival guide for school leavers, and much more.

We here at The Flannel think that you, dear reader, have been through enough this year. So we present you with this magazine, something you can read to unwind and and learn something in the process. It’s been a tough year, so enjoy the art and writing that WHS has worked to create.

- The Flannel Team

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what’s hot

what’s not

- The Earth - TikTok - Vintage knits - Lice :/ - Men in skirts - Women supporting women - Vegetarian Lasagne - Doc Martens - Septum Piercings - Dyed hair - Voting

- Slut-shaming - Gaslighting :p - New Conservative Party - Pulp Fiction posters in your bedroom - Smoking Cigarettes - Non-Black people saying the N-word - Making fun of teenage girls for wearing “basic” clothing -Peanut Allergies

who’s hot

who’s not

- Harry Styles - Niall Horan - Louis Tomlinson - Bernie Sanders - Barron Trump - Jacinda and Ashley - Ashton Kutcher - AOC -The Beths - Taylor Swift -Pauline Chalamet - Dakota Johnson

- Simon Cowell - Kanye - The Kardashians - Addison Rae - The Zucc - Prince Andrew - Chris Lilley - Chris D’Elia - J.K. Rowling - Judith Collins - Mac Demarco - Jeff Bezos 3

Questions to Questions to the the editors Editors

Roman Barlow asked: “Flannel backwards is flanneL?”

Roman Barlow Asked: “Flanneland backwards No, it simply is not you complete utter is flanneL?” fool, how do you feel knowing that you have No, it simply not you complete and utter fool, made such a isneaderfalic statement in a queshow do you feel “knowing that you have made tion to the SCHOOL magazine? Yes that’s such akiddo neaderfalic statement in a question to the right you have just made a complete SCHOOL magazine? Yes that’s right kiddo you have and utter fool of yourself and you will gradjust made a complete and utter fool of yourself and uate from here with but a single you will graduate fromnothing here with nothing buttitle a sinto your name.

What is that title I hear you gle title to your name. What is that title I hear you asking? completeand and utter idiot.

I hate asking? AAcomplete utter idiot.

I hate you, I hate you, you I hate you, you fool I hate absolute foolabsolute I hate you, crawl backyou, into the deepest you crawled outpit of to make crawl back darkest into thepitdeepest darkest you crawled out of to make that ‘witty’ statement and that never‘witty’ come statement into the light of day againcome because onelight and of I mean no one and never intonothe day again wants to see yourand stupid face. -The WHS Flannel because no one I mean no one wants Editorial team. to see your stupid face. -The WHS Flannel Editorial team.

“How much will it cost and where can we get it from?”

Well it’s a bit late to be asking that now huh? -WHS Editorial Team

“What’s one aspect of WHS that you admire and hope will stay with the rest of time.”

Something I find admirable about WHS is the development and growth that it promotes through its progressive environment. While going to WHS I have found myself growing as a person In many ways after being exposed to a range of different views and personalities. I hope WHS continues to be a school that promotes the individual and free expression of thought because I don’t think there are many High Schools and Colleges that do such a thing. -WHS Editorial Team.

Dear Ed, how is Jacob so handsome?? - Anonymous” Well you see loyal reader I consulted Jacob on how he keeps his face, body and everything about him in immaculate shape and he told me it comes from a tight regime of eating the right vegetables and getting at least eight hours of sleep each night.

-WHS Flannel Editorial team.

“Why is 100 gecs the greatest band of our generation?”

After a short and superficial google of “100 Gecs” I was disappointed to find this band is not made up of 100 tree-dwelling lizards, I will however accept that my expectations were perhaps a bit unrealistic and therefore will withhold judgment for their false advertising.

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“What’s the stinkiest stench you have encountered at WHS?” It’s a tossup between our Comlab 4, which our journalism class has been cooped up in for most of the year, and the one time the level two bathrooms smelled so strongly of weed it made this editor’s eyes water. The bathroom was more intense, but short lasting, while the perpetual scent of what we assume to be a dead rat stuck under a floorboard seems to never subside.

“Every time I cut onions I hear screaming from across the house. “No!” What does this mean?”

Hi Alex, I would say thank you for the question however it is not worth my thanks. What you have asked is probably the second poorest excuse for a question that I have had the displeasure of answering. Second of course to the stupid ‘whitty’ question that Roman Barlow crawled out of his sorry pit to ask. -WHS Editorial Team “Hi ily” Uhhh geez, right I appreciate the forwardness, the honesty, I know I’m really great. But I have to say no, it’s not you it’s me. I’m just not ready for this kind of commitment, so good luck with life. -The WHS Flannel Editorial Team

“Milk before or after teabag?”

After! God please tell me no one is putting milk into plain hot water. You have taken this editor’s innocence. -The WHS Editorial Team

“How many toes? How many more?”

Sir, ma’am or gender nonconforming WHS student, I have neither the ability, nor the will to answer this question! I would ask why you want to know “how many toes? How many more?” but I’m not sure I want to know the answer. -WHS Editorial Team

“Why is a student rep a position gained by popularity contests rather than actual policies?”

For the same reason most other elected positions are gained through popularity.

Humans are extremely irrational when it comes to picking who should lead.

The problem is only amplified in board rep elections because everyone knows each other and the candidates personally. -WHS Editorial Team

“Would you rather eat a bowl of soup using a fork only or only chopsticks?”

I would use both, use the fork to stab you in the throat and then with the two chopsticks gauge your damn eyes out for asking such a question! What kind of satanic twat would propose such an immoral situation? With a fork I have but a modicum of hope when it comes to consuming the soup, but it still isn’t ideal. With chopsticks… What am I even supposed to do there? Without a doubt in my mind I would rather use a fork. -WHS Editorial Team

Advice for Becoming a Senior

Hold onto your hats lads, things are about to get tough Be yourself !!! The earlier you start being yourself the more fun you will have at High Pick subjects you’re passionate about, not ones your friends are in.

Wash and wear deodorant

Make as many connections and friendships as possible, and be nice to the ones you want to keep Don’t go to McDonalds at lunch unless you are prepared to face the grease

Don’t

Don’t say epic

It is ok to cry, exams can’t hear you.

Year 11 Isn’t as bad as you think it’s going to be, just make sure you get UE and 80 Credits. Level 2 however will hit you like a brick.

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MUSIC

THE LOCAL LIST: YOUR GUIDE TO THE BEST NZ MUSIC ARTISTS

By Freya James

There’s a saying that goes; “Don’t leave home until you’ve seen your own country.” Or, in this case, “Don’t leave home until you’ve heard your own country”. I think that this applies to the music scene in New Zealand. It’s under-appreciated, and far better than some mainstream music out there (not pointing any fingers, Justin Bieber).

Quick disclaimer: I am not a musician! I have no musical talent, and my only experience is being able to play ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ on the piano very shakily. But, I love listening to music so here is a list of my favourite Aotearoa picks!

LONTALIUS LONTALIU S Eddie Johnston, under the stage name Lontalius, went from making Soundcloud beats in his room and biking around Wellington with mates for music videos, to working with the likes of pop superstar Troye Sivan. His music style ranges in the indie/lo-fi genre, and are calming, emotional and not to mention LGBTQ+ friendly!

Even my Dad likes his music.

TOP TRACKS - All I Wanna Say - Make My Dreams Come True - Sleep Thru Ur Alarms

INTERVIEW WITH LONTALIUS LONTALIUS Tuesday the 25th of February

Is there an album or song that has had a big impact on you?

I grew up listening to mostly rock music, The Beatles and stuff like that - then, when the first Drake album came out, that was kind of a big deal. I liked rap music from afar, but Thank Me Later, that and a bunch of other RnB that was happening at that time kind of opened my eyes to another world.

Was it hard trying to get into the music industry from a smaller country?

Definitely, especially because when I was growing up, New Zealand music was a big deal. There was a lot of money and opportunity but then it kind of died out after a while. By the time I started to take music seriously there weren’t many paths I could go down here.

Do you think that it’s easier to become a New Zealand musician now, or when you were trying to get big? Do you think there was a prime time for NZ artists to blow up?

It does seem easier now, but I do think it’s just wherever you find the path, right? I had Soundcloud, but you couldn’t do that now… but then also I see sixteen and seventeen-year-olds putting stuff on Spotify. They’re making good money, and I’m like, “Damn, I wish I had that when I was sixteen”.

What percent of your audience is from New Zealand compared to international? Are those numbers/ statistics important to you?

Most of my audience is from America. Definitely, those statistics matter to me. That was a big motivator in wanting to get out early on, just because looking at my Soundcloud stats, it was like “most of my audience is in America, why am I still here?”

Do you think NZ has its own music culture and aesthetic?

Yeah, historically it does. There’s the kind of, Dunedin sound, I’ve definitely had people tell me that they can hear that in my music, I don’t do it intentionally so… obviously it comes through somehow.

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MUSIC Although differing from mainstream music and a lot of the other sounds from Aotearoa, if you enjoy Lontalius’s music and you’re looking for more NZ musicians who are amazing, here are a few of my favourites down below!

DAFFODILS Daffodils are an Auckland based indie/alt band, formed in 2016

by Theo Spike-Salmon and Jade Bryham, then joined by Isaac Keating and Louis Graham. With synthesisers and catchy guitar riffs, Daffodils’ songs feel nostalgic and 80s’-esque, and easy to dance to. It’s 2020, but the songs would fit right in with bands such as The Smiths, The Cure, and Joy Division.

TOP TRACKS - Boys - A Leo Underwater - First Time Party Nightmare

CHURCH AND AP Church and AP are a hip hop duo made up of Elijah Manu (Church) and Albert Purcell (AP). The two rose to fame in 2018, with their single ‘Alladat’, a revamped, lo-fi version of Gwen Stefani’s The Sweet Escape. More recently, their tracks have had a more bass-fuelled, throwback kind of feel to them, a similar sound to American boyband BROCKHAMPTON. Church and AP’s songs make me feel cool when I listen to them, and that’s why they’re on the list.

TOP TRACKS - Magic Johnson - Aston Martin - Moneytalk

MAXWELL YOUNG Maxwell Young describes his music as “abstract pop poetry”, and I couldn’t agree more. His sounds are slow and dreamy, and are perfect to play on a rainy day, while you’re redecorating your room for the 17th time. He’s grabbed the attention of pioneering artists such as The 1975’s Matty Healy, and has an impressive history of opening for legendary indie/mix artists such as The Internet, Snail Mail, and Clairo.

TOP TRACKS - No. 5 - Evergreen - Right Here

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JoJo’s Bizarre SEX & SEXUALITY

Masculinity

By Waitohi Huia

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is a series famous for its memes, out the gate superpowers and obviously their giant, ridiculously unrealistically buff men. As it turns out I recently subjected myself to this madness over NZ’s 87 day lockdown and I’ve had many thoughts on the show.

I’m currently on episode 29 of part five of the series’ Vento Aureo anime adaption, and I’ve seen all the past JoJo adaptations and the newest OVA Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan, and I have enjoyed it so much that I even started following an extra 28 or so fan artists on Instagram.

During my time looking at all the great art I found, I started to notice a trend happening with artists I follow drawing my favorite stoic hat wearer, Kujo Jotaro, the main JoJo of part three, who is also featured in parts 4, 5 and 6 after his leg of main JoJo-hood is over. Anytime an artist (for example, @therealsnipster on Instagram) would draw him I don’t know, smiling, showing human emotion, or fathering his daughter, dudebros in the comments of said posts would slander the artists, saying things along the lines of “Jotaro doesn’t show affection, stop making him gay!” or “That’s out of character for Jotaro he doesn’t have emotions!” when in fact, Jotaro does have emotions, and he is capable of affection (The whole driving force of the plot for part three is Jotaro trying to save his mother!). Seeing that happen really confused me, because I couldn’t figure out where dudebros were finding this toxically masculine image in JoJo. After I saw the comments on the literally beautiful art (I will again say to go and look at @therealsnipster’s art, it’s great), it got me thinking about how masculinity is portrayed in JoJo, because I really wanted to see where the base for the toxicity is founded.

start, a couple disclaimers;

1) Though I’ll be praising the hell out of this series, I’d say little to none of the things that make it subvert traditional masculinity are on purpose, as it seems that series mangaka Hirohiko Araki actually just likes high fashion and bizarre plot devices. Though there are a few explicitly LGBT characters such as Dio, Scarlet Valentine, Sorbet and Gelato. So yeah, I am aware that it ain’t that deep, I just want to write about it.

2) There are a lot of things outside masculinity that the JJBA series needs to work on. I am aware of that fact.

In this article I’ll be unpacking the way masculinity is presented as fluid in JoJo through their characterization, fashion and the famous JoJo poses that the show is so well known for. On the page adjacent to this one I have also included some quotes that I’ve gotten from an interview. When talking about the fashion in the series I will be focusing on part five Vento Aureo and how Araki’s (the series creator) use of feminine poses and fashion contributes to the gender fluidity that the show inhabits.

In my search I found that yes, whilst one may be able to look at the buff men and assume they’re all macho and toxic without knowing them, you’d have to ignore pretty much most of their entire character to do so.Going into the rest of this article I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this you are at least a bit aware of the show, because there are probably spoilers ahead. But before we Pictured right is Bruno Bucciarati and his suit that I love

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SEX & SEXUALITY

JJBA Big Boys Do Cry I’ll be the first to admit, when I first saw stuff from parts 1-3 I had thought “oh no here we go again”. I had expected any and all characters to have two personality traits, one pertaining to their fighting ability and the other being unbridled “manliness”. I wasn’t completely wrong about that assumption, but the series showed me that it definitely had a lot more going on under the surface. I asked Massey school of English and Media Studies lecturer Kevin veale a few questions about the common ways in which masculinity is presented toxically and he said “Men are commonly presented as self-reliant to a fault: they must solve their problems by themselves, and judge themselves badly or are judged by others if they cannot”. He also said later on “Joseph is extremely chivalrous, but I remember was fixated on solving problems by himself” Which I think is a good example from JoJo that shows it’s not perfect.

Though there are characters who aren’t afraid to ask for help like part 5’s Giorno, who enlisted the help of passione in order to overthrow the mafia (There is definitely still something to be said about how many people who he made trust him died during his campaign).

The next common thing Kevin listed was ”Male characters are often emotionally repressed, or it’s seen as natural/obvious that they’d be ashamed or embarrassed of their emotions when they are visible. The exception is anger, which is seen as a very normal emotion for men to feel and act on”. I think Joseph is a good example in this case.

During his first run on the show he was

quite emotional, famously sobbing when (spoiler alert) his new best friend Caesar Zeppelli was crushed by a rock whilst fighting Wamuu. Letting masculine characters express emotion like this is super good for the target audience of the series, which is teen boys.

After regretfully skipping over Kevin talking about the way men are depicted treating women in a lot of media, he as the very last thing on his list says “Affection between men is dangerous because it raises the spectre of homosexuality, but also because it involves being vulnerable which contravenes both self-reliance and emotional repression”.

Fan-dubbed Jo-bros are great examples of this. The Jobros are the main side characters and sort of best friends that are introduced to accompany each JoJo, they aren’t presented as inherently homosexual, they’re just close friends who are allowed to exhibit platonic affection.

Joseph and Caesar are a good example, even though they started off not really liking each other by the time of Caesar’s death they had developed a deep kin-ship with one another which resulted in Joseph’s emotional reaction to his best bud’s untimely death. Speaking of best bro deaths there’s also my personal favorite, Okuyasu’s kind-of fake out death is iconic for me personally just because of how much I love him and Josuke (And no, I’m not just a shipper I like them as friends). Josuke and Okuyasu share a lot of platonic affection and are both dummies with bleeding hearts, making for a fun and affectionate relationship.

I also asked Kevin about some good examples he had of healthy male rep and he mentioned ATLA’s Uncle Iroh whomst everyone loves, as well as Bo from the She-ra reboot, Max in Mad Max: Fury Road and Takeo from Ore Monogatarii. If I was gonna list someone outside of JJBA I think I’d have to mention the new version of Raphael in Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the newest rendition of the TMNT has Raph recharacterized from the angry aggressive red turtle of the 2012 cartoon series into a caring gentle giant and leader of the rise turtles. Even though his softness is often played for laughs as it’s in juxtaposition of his massive structure, they show that Raph is still someone that’s trusted and respected as a leader.

WWFinally when asked whether this type of representation would be beneficial to a wider audience Kevin responded with “Absolutely. It’s never as simple as that seeing a piece of media would have a concrete impact or improvement on the audience who watch it, but it helps add to the recurring stories people hear about who it’s acceptable to be.”

Pictured left is a 28 year old Kujo Jotaro in his marine biologist getup

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SEX & SEXUALITY

Fashion & Poses If you’ve ever been on the internet, you’d probably have seen JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure somewhere. The fans of the show have so aggressively turned it into anime’s beacon of meme-ship that it’s even leaked out of just the anime side of the internet and into wider social media circles. For most people that have seen the series’ memes, that two things they’ll most likely remember are Stands and Poses.

Because I won’t be talking about stands in this article, I’d like to point your attention to the Poses.

The JoJo pose is such a ridiculously famous thing that TikTok user @ApolloFresh made a song about it and over 200,000 TikToks were made to it of people posing like various anime characters and celebrities. JoJo poses have become such a huge part of the series, people love them, and that’s why they’re so great. You see, JoJo poses aren’t usually for intimidation, they stand for an expression of dramatism. They don’t pose in macho “I’ll kill you with a swipe of my hand” ways, they pose with an air of “See me! Know that I’m attractive!” they’re usually based off of women’s fashion magazine poses, or greek statues. When Dio famously got photographed by Joseph in part 3, his pose wasn’t using his massive (stolen) musculature to intimidate or scare, he was looking over his shoulder seductively, almost beckoning, daring the Stardust Crusaders to find him. His pose in that particular photo is based off of a drawing of a womWan from Nina Ricci Haute Couture in 1984.

This blatant projection of feminine poses onto masculine bodies is wonderfully progressive, especially when shown in such a positive light as JoJo does. When the crusaders react badly to seeing Dio, it’s not because of the pose, it’s because he’s a murderous stone mask Vampire who wants to delete the Joestar bloodline from existence. Whenever the Poses are used for intimidation in the series, It’s always a villain and their poses aren’t beautiful they’re twisted, ugly, or at the very least not presented as sexy, accompanied by the japanese katakana ゴゴゴ (usually roughly translated to “menacing”). Usually JoJo poses happen in a moment of emotion, as a reaction of sorts, the first example I can think of is Joseph and Caesar posing as a dramatic reaction to grief after the death of their Nazi (yikes, I know) friend Mark to the hands of what I can only descibe as an evil Aztec Arnold Schwarzenegger.. In the final panels (or final scene if you’re an anime watcher) of part 4, Josuke arches his back an impossible amount in a pose to say goodbye to the audience. When Josuke poses at the end of that part it’s obviously not an attempt to intimidate you, he’s just decided that instead of waving you off he’s going to strike a pose to remember him by. Having these poses be feminine and non-violent lends to it throwing away any form of toxic masculinity allowing for freedom of gender expression in body language. That sort of stuff is what I’m writing this article for.

Remember how I mentioned that a ton of JoJo poses are based off of female fashion magazines? Well the same goes for the fashion too. The universe of JJBA is long established as flamboyant, with little to no regard for how real life society would treat you if you wore a suit completely filled with holes (Pannacota Fugo from part 5, I’m looking at your dumbass outfit), or a light purple crop jacket with

pen nibs as buckles (Kishibe Rohan from part 4). Fashion is just a part of who you are in this universe, and because everyone dresses however flamboyantly they want there’s no room for judgement (that is of course, unless you have a giant pompadour like Josuke). My favorite example of this lack of judgement is in part five.

In my opinion, the decision to put a bunch of part 5’s cast in women’s clothing is an inspired one. Abbacchio looks much cooler in his Gucci getup than he did in a cop uniform, and Narncia may be an idiot but at least his Versace shirt is cool. Araki (series creator) really likes his high fashion, and it shows. This, however, is to no aversion of both the audience and the in-universe people of Italy. This lens of a fictional world opens up people’s willingness to just accept that men can dress like this. Hell, a great example of JoJo directly helping is from a tweet late last year about K-Pop mega-group Exo’s Kai being in a yellow and black crop top (a nice mid-ground between Rohan and Part 3 Dio’s fashion) going viral where the twitter user didn’t even notice anything was out of the usual at first thanks to their familiarity with JoJo’s fashion.

The use of traditional femininity that doesn’t emasculate the men in the series truly makes for a fun, progressive series in terms of outwardly presented masculinity, which is something more shounen could benefit from considering their demographic.

Pictured right is Diorno Giovanna (blonde) and Josuke Higashikata (purple hair)

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SEX & SEXUALITY

And Finally, A

Conclusion Being female, I can appreciate the femininity of the JoJo boys as something that I think is super nice to see. My favorite fashion senses in the series belong to (if you haven’t yet realised by the sheer amount of times I’ve mentioned him) Kishibe Rohan and part 5 parent friends Bruno Bucciarati and Leone Abbacchio. And even aside from aesthetic choices I’m obviously glad to see some men that are allowed to cry and be emotional without it being a big deal. I also don’t think I’ve mentioned it before this conclusion either but I’m not actually a dude, and I don’t really think it matters. Toxic masculinity, and by extension the ostracisation of fluid masculinity is detrimental to everyone, it also often extends to the objectification of women as well as just general sexism.

This series has quickly become one of my favorites in anime, the great colors and art style that for the first three parts I hated, and for the newest ones I love, the wacky fashion and impossible poses. All of it has culminated to being something I love. Sure there’s a few things I don’t really like about the series, but I’m definitely in it for the long haul, which seems to be a popular opinion to share. JJBA has a lot of things that make it progressive from a masculinity standpoint. I stand by my opinion that more shows, anime or not, that are made for a demo-

graphic like this could stand to be made that support this idea of fluid masculinity. While it might not make a huge difference, any attempt to normalise non-traditional masculinity would be beneficial I think. I mean, the only reason I started writing this article is because I saw some uneducated dudes on the internet miffed that their buff manly macho man was drawn smiling softly at a tortoise.

I think the show definitely has definitely got things to work on still, stuff like female representation (even with Stone Ocean, yes) and maybe attempting to not make every single lgbt character a villain. (So far we have Dio, Scarlet Valentine, and minor (also dead) villains Gelato and Sorbet). But, as far as masculinity is concerned I think I’m finally done here. My final words to you is to check out anything mentioned in this article (Except, maybe, She-ra. IDK I didn’t really like it), it’ll be a good time I swear.

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SEX & SEXUALITY

THAT’S THE PROBLEM

WITH

PORN

By: Dani Jimenez

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SEX & SEXUALITY

THE PORN INDUSTRY Porn is a multi-millionaire industry with billions of reproductions. An article by Psychology today said: “In 2017 there were 28.5 billion visits to PorHub alone, a number roughly equal to four times the Earth’s total human population”. Porn Hub is the biggest platform to stream porn around the world, this platform reaches at least 42 billion views per year! Making 115 million videos per year. This platform is owned by the company Mindgeek, the platform not only has common porn videos. It also streams videos that content sexual assault, child abuse, sex trafficking, torture and non-consensual sexual violent videos. This is one of the reasons why the younger generations are not supporting porn or platforms like this anymore. In the survey, 91% of the class said that they regret watching porn, and I would like to say that it’s because of how sexual relations are shown in these videos, the stereotypes and the representation that it’s giving to the different minorities, such as lgbtq+ community, females, and racial minorities. Also, the fake expectations and the insecurities that it gives you about yourself and relationships.

tempting against women’s lifejk . An article by “Fight the new drug” said, “Unfortunately, studies have shown that past porn consumption and exposure to filmed sexual violence feeds into sexist attitudes, makes people less empathetic for victims of sexual assault, and makes people less satisfied with their partner.”

Porn has been shown to create and cause issues for many children due to viewing it at an early age . The same articleshares “that average age of exposure to pornography is 9-11 years old, and that 1 in 10 visits to hardcore porn sites is from someone under the age of 10.” I found this concerning, but when I decided to survey one of my classes and found out that 72.2% of the class had access to porn in the age range of 1015. This is impressive taking in count that 81.8% of the class answer that they have watched porn before.

In the article by BBC, Alyssa Bischmann (director of the study) said: “The result can be that young men develop sexist attitudes and are essentially sexually

Normalization of gender stereotypes and sexualization of sexism.

An article made by BBC talking about a study about men’s sexist attitudes show that “They found those who saw porn young were most likely to agree with statements that asserted male dominance, such as “things tend to be better when men are in charge”.

This is because porn usually dehumanizes women by portraying them in a submissive way, instead of making them look like humans. Whose desires and pleasures are as important as a mans.

Men who feel like they’re not fully satisfied by the standard real sexual relations, can try and get it from somewhere else. Even if this means hurting or at-

deskilled.”

Violent and dominant behaviour In the survey that I realised 30% said “maybe” and 30% said “yes” to the question “Do you feel porn has ever affected the way you feel about females?”. Proving how the content, stereotypes and behaviours in these videos can cause people to feel different about females, and change their perspectives on them. Also, these can cause males to be controlling and dominant over women. In the article by “Fight the new drug” said “These stereotypes, especially when pushed to the extreme, often include men being dominating, unemotional, aggressive and controlling, and women being submissive, emotional, weak, and subordinate. When these gender stereotypes are conformed to, research shows that there can be increased violent behaviour and risky behaviour for boys and depression and exposure to violence for girls”. This shows that porn can creates aggression and puts women at risk of suffering these consequences.

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MIA KHALIFA AND HER EXPERIENCE WITH THE INDUSTRY

“ I should have done theraphy, not porn ” - Mia Khalifa Mia Khalifa is one of the most recognised porn stars, with a total of 12 videos and a work period of 6 months made a name for herself and experience that would be with her for the rest of her life, whether she liked it or not. Mia now has come to the public after a year of her being away and taking time for herself. Now she has come out to talk about the porn industry and her awful experience with it.

Mia’s career started after she finished college. She tells how she lost at least 50 pounds and her body was looking good, she also shared that she got a good surgery and that was the moment when she was finally feeling good about herself. She explained how having the male attention and approval was something new for her, that she didn’t want to let go.

At this point in her life, she meets someone who approaches her about how beautiful she is and offers her the job. Mia thought that to keep the male approval she needed to do it. These people used Mia’s insecurities and manipulated her to get into porn, and do all the stuff that they asked her for. Mia has said that she takes 100% responsibility for her actions, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t blame and knows that the industry manipulated her, and controlled her during her career.

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Till this point Mia’s videos are still on multiple platforms, and they are still getting views, subscriptions and income for them. The problem is when the platforms are still getting paid for them, but not

Mia. Now she is trying to change the way everyone sees her by starting in social media, like Instagram and Tik Tok. What’s hard about this is seeing how she still receives hate from all of this. Usually in her posts is most of the time that females comment positive things about her, and show her support. But the male population would be the one to bring her down and even tell her to “shut up”. The main reason for males to react this way is that now Mia is no longer an “object” now she’s showing that she is a human, has emotions and deserves respect. Males don’t agree with this, because of porn and how it changes the way they see her. Porn dehumanized her and objectified her till the point that now males d o n ’ t have sympathy or respect for her.

It’s sad seeing how sexist and violent porn has made a woman’s life so hard. Mia said that if she could speak to herself when she was 21 in Florida this guy approached her to get into the industry. Her answer was “There is mace in your purse for a reason, use it...run!”

SEX & SEXUALITY

BELLESA, A FEMINIST NEW APROACH AND OPTION

ing more and being more recognised especially by females. They want to have some content to watch without feeling like the videos aren’t directed to them, and instead of getting an erotic idea from them, they’re getting the feelings of insecurity, disguised, and being scared with was going on.

Many people said that there shouldn’t be such a thing as supporting feminist porn or anything porn related at all.

Bellesa is a new porn platform streamer. This company is run by women checking that all the content, such as videos, stories, and more aren’t trespassing to the sexist, or stereotyped area. This platform is free and with a great variety of content. This new platform is now grow-

But it’s in human nature to feel more excitement by watching, reading and hearing erotic content. In my opinion, there are a lot of people out there who still want to watch this content.

My reason for supporting this is the fact that it’s much better if these people can support and watch porn from a more reliable and healthy website than still going to porn hub or other streamers where the main point of the videos is to show violent sexual relationships. Where the main rea-

son that the videos get so many views is exaggerated stereotypes, sexism, and even illegal stuff such as pedophilia, sex traffic, and rape.

Porn is something that shouldn’t be approved by society, but at least having an option that is taking the initiative of changing the industry in a more healthy and real way. Having an option that has open a lot of space for feminism and acceptance its what makes it a better way. Showing real women, with imperfections, different desires and showing that its important for both parts involved to have fun and pleasure.

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no, it’s not a phase. by eliza marchant

I am a bisexual woman. I never had any trouble with this realisation, because it was never one defining moment of “Wow, I like girls too!” My parents raised me so that I never really felt like sexuality or gender was a binary thing, something where you ticked one box and that was it.

So, when I discovered it wasn’t “normal” to not care whether you kissed a boy or a girl, I really couldn’t care less. I was the first of anyone I knew in my hometown who started to casually refer to myself as bisexual. It was then when I first began to notice the language and attitude towards bisexual people from both the heterosexual and the LGBT+ community, which I pretended to not hear because it was easier than calling someone out on it. Well, it took me a few years but I’ve changed my mind. I am going to confront the biphobic mindset because I am a proud, raging feminist and I will not hide how hard I’ve worked to finally stand up for myself.

First, what is bisexuality? Being bisexual is an umbrella term for not being exclusively attracted to people of one gender. It’s the B in LGBT+. There are other sexualities such as pansexual, polysexual and demisexual, and their meanings broadly overlap. However, the distinction is incredibly important to some people, and that is why you should always respect the label a person has chosen. Secondly, what is biphobia? Being biphobic is being fearful of or hateful towards bisexual people because they are bisexual. You are welcome to dislike a person who just also happens to be bisexual, but if that is the reason you dislike them, that is biphobia.

Many stereotypes come with being bisexual and a huge contributor to those stereotypes is the media. Bisexuals are seen as untrustworthy, indecisive, impulse and

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SEX & SEXUALITY hyper-sexual. A popular trend in movies/ film has literally been named the “Depraved Bisexual”, where a character’s bisexuality is used to show how untrustworthy or morally corrupt they are. These characters are often the villains. If the character is a woman, she’s highly sexualised and will often seduce whoever she can to reach her goal, such as Poison Ivy from Batman. If he’s male, he’s often feminine and prioritizes pleasure above everything else, such as Logan Delos from Westworld. This obviously affects everyone’s perception of bisexual people, seeing them,again and again be portrayed as the villian.

When I dated my first girlfriend, she introduced me to the idea of “gold star lesbians”. She explained that you earned the title of a gold star lesbian if you had never had sex with men, only women. This made me uncomfortable for two reasons. One, I was 13 and nowhere near ready to have sex with a man or a woman, and two, why does it matter? My then-girlfriend realised she was a lesbian when she was very young, and was proud of being always able to identify as a gold star lesbian. I, on the other hand, felt ashamed about being attracted to men, like I wasn’t “gay enough” for her. So not only would I be rejected by men for being bisexual, but I would be rejected by lesbian women for being bisexual? It felt so unfair that a community that had fought so hard for what they have would be so hypocritical. If a woman sleeps with men and women, why should she feel less than? In a study done by the intimate toy website Adam and Eve, 470 people out of 1000 intended to never date a bisexual person. Biphobia exists in the LGTB+ community as well as outside of it, which breaks my heart. The people I expected to be the most accepting weren’t. I had a gay man who attended an LGTB+ support group say to my face once, that he didn’t “be-

lieve” in bisexuality, that to him you could only be straight or gay, and that I’d figure it out one day.

Why is it seen as a flaw to be bisexual? Why is bisexuality seen as just a stepping stone? This implies that being bisexual is somehow safer or more acceptable than being gay. Sexuality, in general, seems to be centred around men. If you are a bisexual man, you are really just in the closet and will end up coming out as gay. If you are a bisexual woman, you really just sleep with women for fun, to arouse men, just a fetish, not a person. I am a bisexual woman in a beautiful relationship with a man, and I understand it is easier because I am “straight-passing”, I can show affection towards him in public and not be afraid someone will hurt me for it. But, I have people ask me all the time if I am still bisexual, even though I am dating a man. I’ve seen the twitter conversations about how the right to gay marriage doesn’t affect me since I could always just choose a man. I can’t choose who I fall in love with, just like anyone else. But it still hurts to see a huge part of who I am just swept under the rug, purposefully ignored.

I don’t speak about everyone when I refer to the LGBT+ or heterosexual community. There are of course the most loving, accepting people in both. But there are people who need to change. If someone comes out to you as bisexual, accept them. Not in the “he can always still marry a woman” way, or the “it’s just a phase” way. But in the “you are a person first, a person who happens to be bisexual.”

I can’t choose who I fall in love with, just like everyone else.

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Friend or Fetish The harms and consequences of fetishising members of the LGBTQ+ community

By Caitlin Matheson

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s an avid social media user, in quite a left-leaning echo chamber, the feed that shows up on my phone is mostly all of content that I agree with, though in recent months, I’ve seen a lot of content that made me uneasy: content that seemed to be unknowingly fetishising people in the LGBTQ+ community. After seeing this content, I decided to take to the internet and try to read up more about it but to my surprise, there were barely any articles that helped me learn more which obviously brought me here to write this.

You may not be aware of seeing this in your own feed, so

I’ve worked to find out about the effects fetishising has on members of the LGBTQ+ community; from being sexually abused, to impacting people’s mental health, and how queerbaiting and a lack of acknowledgement for achievements, make them feel unrepresented in the media. Being such an underrepresented part of the media world, it is difficult to decipher when media is actually representing the LGBTQ+ community in a good way rather than in a way that is doing more harm than good.

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o, what is fetishising? It is to be excessively or irrationally devoted to something that is not inherently sexual, in most cases it is completely harmless but where it starts to become oppressive and dehumanising is when a fetish is focused on a person because of their sexuality, gender, or race. A common case of this happening is men fetishising women breastfeeding in public and viewing that as something sexual. Another issue that ties in with fetishising LGBTQ+ people is queerbaiting: a marketing ploy that celebrities, social figures, writers for TV and film, and authors use to attempt to attract an LGBTQ+ audience to get more money without actually including them by hinting but not depicting LGBTQ+ representation. An example I’m sure most people have heard of is J.K Rowling saying that Dumbledore is gay, which she announced after the books were written and obviously only did it to win favour with her LGBTQ+ audience after having zero representation in the Harry Potter series.

A few months ago, when I first encountered queerbaiting was on the social media app TikTok. A boy faked coming out as bisexual as an April Fools joke, which obviously is not a funny one. Humour and content like this have a complete disregard for any struggle that is a result of being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, as coming out is a very important and emotional event for some people. When you do it as a joke it shows ignorance around homophobia and makes light of any kind of struggle people may have because of their sexuality. Last year, Logan Paul, a popular youtuber, who has had a fair few controversies, declared that he would have different resolutions for every month, “It’s male-only March. We’re going to attempt to go gay for just one month,” Paul explained. This statement implies that sexuality is a choice and it dismisses that homophobia is still a thing that people face, and, as Logan has a very young audience it is teaching them that too. This ignorance is carried through into everyday life as well, away from the screen, people still use the word ‘gay’ as an insult or use it as some sort of joke and you have to ask yourself, is this actually funny? Is this necessary? And the answer is going to be no. It’s not.

Fetishising completely objectifies and dehumanises the person who is being fetishised and if that isn’t reason enough not to do it, fetishising results in much higher rates of sexual harassment and abuse. In New Zealand, in past years, while filling out the census, you won’t be asked about your sexual orientation, and this has caused a lack of information. This lack of information stops issues within the LGBTQ+ community being pinpointed and resolved. The Human Rights Commission report found many problems that are being faced in the LGBTQ+ community that the census doesn’t reflect. There is no way we can fix these problems in New Zealand without knowing what they actually are. This is set to change in 2023 as the Human Rights report found that members of the LGBTQ+ community still face widespread discrimination and inequity in schools, workplaces, the health care system and in society. Though, in this current moment there are no large

scale population based data on partner and sexual violence in New Zealand. Other countries are also moving towards including questions about gender identity and sexual orientation in their censuses. The UK, for example, has recently passed a bill allowing trans people to choose their gender in the 2021 census and in the USA, as of 2020, the census will give an option to identify a relationship as same-sex. Most country censuses don’t ask sexual orientation questions but many are making the move to do so, which in the future will provide a lot more information that can help identify and resolve issues that members of the community are facing.

According to a 2010 survey by NISVS, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, in the United States, 44% of lesbian women, 61% of bisexual women, and 35% of heterosexual women experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime and 26% of gay men, 37% of bisexual men, and 29% of heterosexual men experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. We can see from these statistics that members of the LGBTQ+ community are at a higher risk than heterosexual people, especially women and especially bisexual women who almost double the percentage of heterosexual women. This shows how small cases of over-sexualising and fetishising contribute to a much bigger and harmful thing, so even if you don’t think you are doing something “that” bad,

Shipping is not activism

Ever since I first got on social media I’ve seen girls obsessing over gay men, wanting a gay best friend, shipping (initially derived from the word relationship, is the desire by fans for two or more people, either real-life people or fictional characters to be in a romantic relationship) male characters in movies or tv shows but at the same time these girls won’t be friends with lesbians because that makes them uncomfortable and it goes the same for men obsessing over lesbians. In the media, the idea of a ‘gay best friend’ is completely romanticized, in tv and film they are used almost as an accessory to another character, but no one wants to be viewed as an object. For example, Christian Stovitz ‘Clueless’, Damien ‘Mean Girls’, Oliver T’sien ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, and Kevin Keller ‘Riverdale’, to name a few. The media portrays very specific stereotypes about members of the LGBTQ+ community, and if people don’t see themselves in these characters, it can be really confusing as it sends a distorted message of what gay people ‘should’ be.

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Films and TV Shows With Good LGBT Representation: • The Half of it (2020) • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) • Booksmart (2019) • Moonlight (2016) • The Handmaiden (2016) • Pride (2014) • My Own Private Idaho (1991) • Paris is Burning (1990) • Maurice (1987) • Euphoria (Since 2019) • Sex Education (Since 2019)

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t seems that members of the LGBTQ+ community aremostly only represented in the media when it is convenient for the creator or when they can use representation or queerbaiting (not authentic or sincere representation in the slightest) as a marketing technique. The lack of representation suggests LGBTQ+ characters are less worthy of a substantial story and that queer relationships are less important. I decided to reach out, and see how a young person, who identifies as queer, feels about queer representation and fetishisation in the media.

A Year 13 Wellington High School Student, when asked about how represented they felt in the media, said: “In terms of films, music and magazines, I find they are really lacking in those areas. The lines are more blurred around queer relationships and interactions because there is hardly any media representation of what that kind of relationship looks like. They aren’t thought out characters, their only trait is queer or gay.”

“I see lots of representation on social media but usually quite extreme versions.

Social media makes me feel more grounded.”

I asked her how she felt about stereotypes and how they effected her perception of herself, “I saw a post online about fem invisibility, the queer community doesn’t always seem that welcoming, to a girl who is pretty, by societal standards, in a mini dress. Which is how I feel, I don’t feel outwardly queer, because I don’t fit the stereotype I see online. Alongside fem-invisibility is privilege because if no one sees you that way, you won’t be discriminated against.”

“Because of the patriarchy, we are conditioned to think that it’s just a ‘girl crush’ or its a phase or something, you will grow into being heterosexual”

As the media decides what queer content to celebrate, a lot is disregarded, especially people of colour who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. Last year, the Met Gala theme was “Camp”, an aesthetic and a tool for critiquing cultural norms, crediting to “Camp: Notes on Fashion” an essay written by Susan Sontag published in 1964, as the inspiration. The essay has been criticized for insisting that camp is apolitical and the exclusion of Black and other minority artists and instead associating camp with white gay men, despite Black artists using camp to portray their art as well as use it as a means for political messages since before Susan Sontag brought it to the public eye.

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he actress and producer, Lena Waithe, who is a black lesbian woman, wore a suit to the Met gala with the words “Black Drag Queens Invented Camp” embroided on the back. Giving credit to many black drag queens, such as Pepper LaBeija, Benny Ninja, and Rupaul who were a big part in starting a cultural revolution using camp. Waithe wanted to emphasise the Black drag queens who advanced the camp movement by being over the top. The fact that the inspiration for the theme wasn’t credited to Black drag queens also reflected in the turn out to the event, the only Black drag queen that was invited was Rupaul.

Social media is such a large part of our world today, and I for one am heavily influenced by what I see online. The lack of representation and information we see through the media and through our everyday lives causes a lack of education for people who aren’t members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as a lack of education for people who are. The content that we see, is most often stereotypical white LGBTQ+ representation, if there is anything.

Overall, the easiest solution for fetishising is to stop doing it. Call out people for being ignorant or disrespectful and show them what is right and what they are doing wrong.

The effects of it are very damaging to the LGBTQ+ community, seen through the high figures of sexual abuse in comparison to straight people, not only this but no one wants to be seen as a fetish either, it’s dehumanising.

A human being’s sole purpose is not to please you. It’s hard to have a solid resolution for some of these problems, like queerbaiting, but I believe one of the best thing you can do is to support LGBTQ+ creators, especially people of colour, through social media, buying from queer and Black owned brands, watch content that is LGBTQ+ inclusive and portrays them as developed characters. I’m not going to tell you to not read your favourite book series or stop watching a specific movie that you love because the creator has used queerbaiting to market it or is against the LGBTQ+ community, cough cough J.K Rowling, but after you do find out about things like that I think that it’s important to stop financially supporting them in any way you can if they are continuously being homophobic or transphobic or are in anyway opposed to the LGBTQ+ community. Although I don’t believe in ‘cancelling’ influencers and celebrities for mistakes that they have made in their past, if they never fix that mistake you shouldn’t continue to support them. The most important thing to remember is that love is love and people who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community are the same as everyone else, they deserve to be treated like human beings and deserve to have equal and accurate representation of themselves in the media. Seeing an accurate portrayal of queer people can help others come to terms with their own sexuality or feel more open and aware about it which all in all would be a super good thing.

By Caitlin Matheson 21

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Mum Why Don’t The People On TV Look Like Me? A window into indigenous representation and the need for realistic stories “We are not here to make ads.”

This is what Mīria George said at the Difficult Encounters talk in Wellington where she spoke about her work as an indigenous writer and filmmaker. It was in response to someone asking whether films should be stories to ‘inspire’ indigenous people. When I heard this question I immediately felt frustrat-

“We are not here to make ads.”

© 2020 PLAYMARKET

Mīria George 22

ed, surely it’s enough for indigenous people to be making films for themselves, sharing their stories, even using it as an outlet. To ask them to sacrifice the telling of their own experiences and to replace them with stories for people to ‘look up to’ and ‘strive for’, or tokenistic stories that represent a whole population, is wrong.

It’s so necessary for these experiences to be out there, to be talked about, for people to feel understood, represented, to let them know that what they’re facing is normal.

Mīria George (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Tumutevarovaro, Enua Manu, Ngāti Kuki ‘Ārani) is a poet, writer, director, and producer of theatre and film.

She worked on a portmanteau-style feature film titled Vai which was the first feature film to be written, directed and produced solely by Pasifika women. In an interview Mīria said, “Today, it’s vitally important that we have a wider and

more nuanced representation of voices and stories in cinema.” The theatre and film industry is heavily dominated by a mono-cultural, male worldview which is detrimental to underrepresented audiences as it leaves no room for other stories to be viewed. It is vital for a wider range of stories to be shared because without these stories being present and heard, people can struggle to find their identity. As Māori poet Tayi Tibble said, “We are still imagining how we exist in this world.”

“We are still imagining how we exist in this world.”

The fact is that Aotearoa is a colonised land and the NZ film industry isn’t any different. Every year films are released and only a handful of them focus on indigenous characters/stories, like Moana, while even less focus on realistic, non-tokenistic indigenous stories such as Waru. By realistic, I mean stories that are relevant to the majority of the indigenous population, but also help others understand the reality of the culture. Through systematic oppression, indigenous populations have been isolated and this is perpetuated by lack of representation and from this, an absence of identity is sustained. After all, you can’t be what you can’t see.

The fact is that Aotearoa is a colonised land and the NZ film industry isn’t any different

ARTS The importance of having indigenous representation is both in the value it holds for the filmmakers and the value it holds for the audience. When asked whether there should be more ‘positive’ representation that ‘inspires’ indigenous peo-

“Indigenous artists should tell the story they want and need to tell” ple, Mīria said that “Indigenous artists should tell the story they want and need to tell - there is no value in serving someone else’s agenda if you are an artist.” Part of the value in making art is the platform it provides for artists to share their stories, which is vital in helping them process their experiences and connect with others.

Part of the value in making art is the platform it provides for artists to share their stories The lack of indigenous representation doesn’t just stem from the film industry itself either, Jani Wilson, who now has her PhD in Film, TV and Media Studies (FTVMS) said that while she was doing her FTVMS bachelor degree, 35 Māori/ Pasifika students started the degree, but only four graduated. This was partially due to the almost complete lack of Māori and Pasifika content in the course. How do we expect these young indigenous filmmakers to pursue a career in

film/TV when before they enter the industry, they’re told that their culture isn’t important? Even after they get a foot in the door, they face the next struggle of barely any support for indigenous filmmakers and just as little support for indigenous films.

35 Māori/Pasifika students started the degree, but only four graduated.

The struggle for indigenous representation isn’t just in Aotearoa either, it’s happening in every colonised country where the indigenous population was forced into the background. Despite there still being an enormous imbalance, there is positive action being taken to restore it. In British Columbia, a film titled SGaawaay K’uuna has been made entirely in the language of the Haida people with subtitles for other viewers, in the hopes that others can learn about and appreciate their culture.

Some films I’d recommend include Waru, Mereta, Vai, Whale Rider, Ngati and Utu. These all have genuine representation and are a great first step in the right direction but for this lack of representation to change, we need to make the effort to support indigenous filmmakers, indigenous films and indigenous cultures as a whole. We are on our way to a fairer, decolonised film industry but we still have a long way to go.

By Cerys Wiles 23

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STUDENT Blank Canvas

“Blank Canvas has become a regular feature of the calendar and is an opportunity for staff and students to exercise their creative instincts in a fairly open format. This year’s exhibition took the standard to a higher level with a fine array of photography, painting, design, and sculpture that I would happily hang on my wall. This of course wasn’t possible because Tony Cairns bought up most of the exhibits.” - Mr. Dominic Killalea

ARTISTS ON INSTAGRAM

Living in an age of social media comes with many benefits. One being the ability to share your work with a larger community. Here are a couple Wellington High School pupils that share their work on instagram. Please go check them out.

TARA STOCKWELL WILLIAMS Tara is an avid drawer and set herself the challenge of doing a drawing a day.

Her level of skill is evident throught the rage of medium and subject matter throughout her page.

Her subject matter ranges from humans, to animals, to robots. Every drawing has intricate detail and thoughtful treatment.

Truly a talented artist, and a dedicated one too.

Follow Tara to see a glimpse of the hundreds of drawings she’s produced in the last few years, an the many more to come.

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BEANIE LEE WHY DO YOU DO ART? I have been crazy about creating art for as long as I can remember. I used to have this giant black garbage bag when I was like 6 that I filled with drawings and paintings and little sculptures because it just made me so happy to make things.

There wasn’t enough room on my walls and on my shelves to display it all, so it had to go in the garbage bag for storage. Creating artworks and having them turn out good gives me such a boost because I can physically see something that I created on my own that I’m proud of.

WHY DO YOU USE INSTAGRAM TO SHARE IT? It’s really motivating as well to see my art improve as I grow older, and that’s one of the reasons why I started my art account. I really wanted an outlet where I could easily plot my progress and improvement as an artist, and also offer a place where other people would be able to see it too.

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ART Roxy 5

The Roxy 5 film Competition is an excellent opportunity for young film makers to create and present work for an audience. Not to mention the pool of prizes that are up for grabs, including the grand prize of getting to rework your film with prominent members of the film industry.

Many Wellington High School teams par-take in the competition each year. Here are a few of the teams that have done well, and interviews with the visionaries behind them:

Look Away NADEZHDA MACEY

2020 BEST COSTUME / ART DEPARTMENT

“HEY CASSIE”

Cassie comes home from a big night out to find her sister waiting up for her. Mia is acting strangely and soon the line between fever dream and reality begins to blur.”

WHY DO YOU MAKE FILMS? I love the satisfaction of translating something in your brain, to a thing consumable by other people. then they’re like wow you’re brain is cool show me some more. Plus there is so much stuff that is unexplored and I’m also sick of watching films that don’t pass the Bechdel test. I feel like there is so much room in Aotearoa’s “film scene”, especially for young people. Aotearoa is full of untold stories.

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF IT? Getting to see other people’s films, you get to see your film on the big screen and be like “oh s*** this is so cool” people are watching my film that I made with my friends and put so much into, and they’re perceiving it - crazy eh. Real talk though you learn to work with a team like damn, your really do, also you have a time restriction! Many lessons are learnt when there’s a deadline. Basically afterwards you’re so hyped to make more films and it’s all you wanna do and you want to drop out of highschool but you don’t cause there’s hardly any year left and you don’t want your parents to kill you - and you can make films on the weekend anyway!

HOW WILL FILMMAKING AFFECT YOUR FUTURE? I’m lucky that I have an existing group of people, mainly friends who also love film, so right now I’m making the most of being in the same city as all of them and using all our passion for film to push each other. We’re making a film at the moment as well, and it’s actually such a good time. You realise that if you find the right people it never feels like a chore and you’re constantly feeding off each other’s excitement and ideas and talent.

If you’re a student at High who wants to make films or you feel like you have a message you wanna share, start by entering Roxy 5! Even if you’re scared! Find a friend who could help you and borrow a camera from school or just use your phone. Basically just make anything, even if it’s bad, because it doesn’t really matter - you’re just in high school. The most important thing is to keep creating and keep the ball rolling, the more you make the easier it becomes. And when people see what you’re making they’re gonna want to be a part of it too, soon you’ll have lots of people who want to help make your films, well, if they’re cool.

WHY DID YOU ENTER ROXY 5?

I chose to do Roxy 5 because it gives you a deadline and a clear goal of something to work towards. Also it gives you a few things you have to include so that helps to start you off.

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ARTS

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ARTS

Love and Art

We lay side to side at the end of Holloway road, staring at the cerulean canvas drawn across the fading night sky.

It was pure luck that I had run into him that night, Benji’s one of those people who thinks not answering his phone is some sort of revolution, a proclamation of soul.

Not to my surprise, I’d discovered him in Midnight Espresso, accompanied by a band of beatnik poets and jazz liberats, rolling cigarettes and philosophising Miles Davis’s “‘Round Midnight”, empty coffee cups scattered around them like cigarette ashes.

This is the typical lifestyle of savants, artists, and all other counterculture revolutionaries.

The vague resonance of a sax can be heard echoing through the city streets like a voice calling out from within the shadows, soulful and thunderous.

“I don’t do interviews” he says, “Let’s talk about life”.

Untitled (2020) - Benji Hartfield Cotton muslin, gesso acrylic, 248 x 56 x 50cm

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ARTS Among a garden of red roses, veiled by a cloud of cigarette smoke and incense, neo-soul, jazz and experimental LP’s, Benji’s soul aches to create. From the break of dawn ‘til the sun falls behind the harbour, he stays hidden in his self-assembled studio in the garden behind St Hilda’s Anglican Church, expressing himself through whatever medium he finds best captures the essence of his passions and curiosities. For instance, after the end of an intimate relationship, he stitched every sms correspondence between himself and his girlfriend onto a sheet of linen entitled, “Materialisation of Unabridged SMS Conversation”, a piece which took over one hundred hours of meticulous effort. In Benji’s words, “I felt that although it was my intention to materialise an otherwise intangible form of communication, the nature of text messages itself isn’t stationary – but rather, is a fleeting, ever changing medium which moves in space and time. I felt assured in deleting the conversation thread from my phone, satisfied that because they now exist as an artwork, they are no longer relevant to carry around with me on my phone, allowing myself to move on. Such is the significance of art for the artist.”.

Self portrait of Benji (2018)

Time, existence, ephermerality (2017)

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As history attests, with the works of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet, the most beautiful works of art are made by those with the most passion; The hopeless romantics; The misfits; The philosophers; Those who dare to question. But art is not the answer, it is the question. It’s the universal longing to connect, to experience what it feels like to be sad, to be angry, to be joyful, to be confused. As Benji says,“to examine, understand, accept and express the beauty of the human condition, the human experience; lived and learned from my own experience as a human”.

Benji Hartfield is art; A live manifestation of its very essence. And like all great things in life, there is harmony.

Where there is passion, there is the desire to express, and where there is love, there is pain. As Benji says, “That’s what life is about, love and art. Art is hugging your best friend. Art is being with your best mate at the end of Holloway Road at 3am, staring at the stars. Art has no medium. It’s constantly surrounding us, whether or not we realise it”.

I first met Benji in 2017 during his final year at Scots College. I remember seeing him for the first time in the hallway of the art rooms setting up vhs recorders and old box televisions for a live video installment. At the time I was confused as to what the piece intended to show, Benji explains it as “The transition between boyhood and

ARTS

Benji Hartfield outside his studio in Island Bay

Materialisation of Unabridged SMS Conversation (2018)

adolescence, the testing of social boundaries in context, boys’ physical engagement with others, and the expression of masculinity, identity and vulnerability.” It’s worth mentioning that this was just after getting detention for turning the handicap bathrooms into a darkroom. Photography, which Benji only began to discover the year before through classes at school began his path as an artist. After curating an exhibition of work entitled, ‘Time Existence, Ephemerality’, Benji was awarded the NZQA top scholar in photography. Aspiring towards expanding his knowledge of both life and art, more specifically the life of an artist, Benji began studying philosophy and fine art at Victoria University. Though deepening his understanding of artistic processes, in particular darkroom procedures, in his own words, “despite my love and engagement with academia, I wasn’t finding time enough to pursue my own career in art.” Believing that this experience was unique to that of Victoria, Benji began his studies at Massey University for a period of 4 weeks before realizing that the conformotive, linear structure of art school would not meet his needs. However disappointed with his dream of attending art school, Benji was not uninspired. “Acquiring a studio, Benji has since been working from his hundred-year-old-shed-turnedstudio in Island Bay, manifesting paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, performances, soirées, photo-

graphic series, album covers for bands, and writings.”

Benji is living proof that the path to self fulfillment is realized in it’s very name. Regardless of secondary schooling, professional help or even in the conventional sense a job in the arts, Benji has followed his heart, and is in turn beyond money or scholarly achievements.

His pursuit of self expression is not limited to that of a paint brush or camera, nor does it result in a singular work of art. His artwork is merely a reflection of himself.

For Benji art is a state of mind, not a tangible object.

In a world that prioritizes having money and a “professional” career in order to be happy, Benji is an outcast.

You may assume him to meet the cliche of a poor, starving artist and you wouldn’t be wrong. But poor by whose definition? Does the number of zeros in your bank account define how happy you are? Despite the appearance of not being successful in a conventional sense, Benji invests himself into his craft and the pursuit of understanding more about the world; the “Human Condition”, instead of what is expected of him. Rather than allowing others to define success for him, he’s invented his own definition. Benji is not following a typical, linear career path, instead his priorities lie in that of living each day as it comes, not searching for anything more and not despairing about what he doesn’t have.

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MUSIC

M U S I C REVIEWS:

Musician, filmographer, character actor and semi-pro scooter athlete, Oliver Tree is an artist unlike any other. His character of Turbo is instantly recognisable, with a bowl cut, sunglasses, a purple and pink jacket and jeans with enough space for a bus. And he’s just released his first and final album.

Oliver Tree Nickell first came into the public consciousness in 2013 with a cover of Radiohead’s Karma Police under the moniker Tree. However, his music career didn’t start there. At the age of three Oliver was slaving away in a piano class, he’d written an album by 6, by adolescence he was playing in the ska band Irony, and by highschool he was a dubstep DJ. Continuing his music genre tiki-tour, he dabbled in folk-rock as he moved into his 20s, before finally morphing into Oliver Tree.

This reluctance to stick to one genre translates itself into Tree’s Music. The opening track on ‘Ugly is Beautiful’, ‘Me, Myself & I’, is pop-punk, with soaring guitars and drums. The next song ‘1993’ immediately counters that with a synth heavy baseline that knocks you flat, matching the song’s crushing message that what you achieve will never be enough. On ‘Cash Machine’, Tree rails against materialism over heavy-hitting guitar riffs, screaming “smile, show your golden teeth, that’s how you cover up your cavities”. ‘Bury Me Alive’ starts with reggae-like guitar, before suddenly becoming a homage to mid-2000s rap, all the while portraying a bad trip at Burning Man. The influence of 2000s hip-hop continues on ‘Joke’s On You!’, as Tree combines it with the ReviewBy Zac negative Taylor pop-punk and ska influences of earlier tracks to create a powerful message about comments driving people to self-hate. ‘Hurt’ initially sounds like Tree apologising for a broken relationship, but is really reflecting on a serious scooter accident when he was 18. He really is a semi-pro scooter athlete. That wasn’t a joke.

Oliver Tree

It’s a truly captivating album, but Tree has announced that it will be his last, due to long-standing frustrations with the music industry.

So, it’s only one album from Oliver Tree. But by God what an album.

Rating: 7.5/10

© 2020 Genius Media Group Inc.

Stray Sheep - Kenshi Yonezu Stray Sheep is an album by popular japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu that came out on August 5th 2020. The album features 15 songs, seven of which had already existed prior to the release of the album. In those seven songs some of Kenshi’s biggest hits are included. The new songs on the album are Campanella, Kanden, Placebo (Featuring Yojiro Noda), Yasashii Hito, Himawari, Stray sheep, Décolleté, and Canary, though the album also includes two of Kenshi’s biggest hits, Lemon and Umi no Yuurei.

Campanella and Kanden are two incredibly strong songs that head the album, and with prior (fantastic) release Flamingo sandwiched between, there was no way to go wrong. Both songs have the signature Kenshi feel, which is something I cannot describe in words, but it’s been there since he used to make vocaloid songs in 2009.

Copyright © 2020 INQPOP! Next up on the album is Placebo, which is... a song… and I don’t hate it, but it is a tad boring. This album is a solid release, but it does suffer from being a little bit too safe sometimes. When I say safe, I’m talking about the lack of experimentalism in some of the songs, which I’ve come to expect from any good Kenshi song. Décolleté, Placebo, and Canary are the biggest culprits on this album, though Yasashii Hito and Himawari are also on the safe side. As for my favorite song on the album, Stray Sheep is the perfect example of that experimentalism I so love, with a guitar riff that gives me direct flashbacks to his other hit songs of past.

Overall I like the album despite it’s weak points, and there is no song that I exclusively dislike, so I’ll still be playing it on repeat for at least a few more weeks.

Review by Waitohi Huia 30

Rating: 7/10 The Honey POP, LLC © 2019. All Rights Reserved

APPRECIATION VS APPROPRIATION ARTS/HISTORY & POLITICS

How the line between influence and plagiarism is so easily crossed in the arts world

BY CERYS WILES

© 2020 Newsroom Limited

Theo Schoon’s work displayed at the Wellington City Gallery in the exhibition Split Level View Finder

L

ast year my friend and I went to see the Split Level View Finder exhibition that looked into Theo Schoon’s art and his collaborations with artists such as Gordon Walters. As soon as we walked in and saw Schoon’s carved gourds I began to wonder about the appropriateness of his work. I considered whether Schoon should be using Toi Māori styles, whakairo and motifs. This lead me to question if this was an example of appropriation and what the line was between appreciation and appropriation.

To me appreciation is something we can all easily do in small ways. Things like supporting artists, sharing their work, learning about the context of the work, being interested in the culture, these all tie together as actions that help to uplift and support art and artists, specifically in an indigenous context.

Appropriation however, is a contemporary issue and a problem that is woven through other issues. Specifically in the context of appropriation of indigenous art, it is intimately related to colonisa-

tion and racism which have had a detrimental impact on Te Ao Māori and many other indigenous cultures globally. Since Pākehā colonised Aotearoa in the 1840’s and even before then, when they were first chartering Te Ika-aMāui and Te Waipounamu, Māori have been experiencing the effects of colonisation. While the effects of colonisation might be seen as less harsh than what was experienced in events like The New Zealand land wars, Parihaka, Bastion Point, and land confiscations, the impact of colonisation is still deeply ingrained in the lives we live today.

This, along with systematic, institutionalised racism contributes a detrimental force that disadvantages Māori in their own country, right from the get go.

One prominent example of the unjust effects of colonisation and systematic racism is the hugely disproportionate prison populations in Aotearoa. According to statistics from the Department of Corrections, as of March 2020, Māori make up 52.8% of the NZ prison

APPROPRIATION ISN’T JUST A CONTEMPORARY ISSUE

population, while only 15% of the total population of Aotearoa are Māori. An even more shocking stat is that Māori wāhine make up 65% of the female prison population and are the most incarcerated population in the world.

The reason for this is not that Māori commit more crimes, it is that they are unfairly policed and criminalised while Pākehā crimes are brushed under the rug. If you are Māori, you are six times more likely to be handcuffed and more than six times more likely to have a gun pulled on you by the police. A recent online questionnaire showed that most Māori students have experienced direct or indirect racist comments from their teachers/peers. Research has also shown there is huge disparity in the healthcare system, with Pākehā being more likely to receive treatment than Māori for the same disease. Now if these aren’t examples of how colonisation and racism have messed up societal structures and negatively affected countless indigenous lives, I don’t know what is.

These issues also have a big impact in the arts world and have affected Māori artists, Māori art, how it is perceived, sold and displayed and thanks to tokenism, Toi Māori has become a way for

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ARTS/HISTORY & POLITICS

There is a huge bias against Maori art and artists in the arts world.

Pākehā artists to profit off an already oppressed culture, only furthering the cycle of racism and colonisation. There is a huge bias against Māori art and artists in the arts world. While Dick Frizzell (1943 - ) earns thousands for a work that has disrespected highly significant and tapu aspects of Toi Māori, there are Māori artists struggling to even make work due to lack of accessibility to funding and other disparities, and this struggle is only furthered when gallery curators (who are mainly white men) blatantly ignore the amazing art that is being created by Māori artists and refuse to exhibit them, whether it is for the reason of their notso-well hidden racism or the fact that they think Māori artists/art will bring in less profit (still racist). This creates a cycle where Māori art isn’t exhibited, doesn’t get recognition, and then the inequality and unfair perception increases, starting the cycle all over again.

T

heo Schoon (1915 - 1985) is one artist I immediately think of when I hear the words cul-

tural appropriation. While I do believe that he has appropriated Toi Māori in his own work, I understand that it is more complex than just a black and white answer. Schoon was a New Zealand Pākehā artist of Dutch descent. Schoon spent years fascinated by Māori art and his interest took him to many places around New Zealand. In his work, Schoon has used various aspects of Māori art and also spent time studying (and vandalising) the Ngāi Tahu rock drawings as well as learning about whakairo on hue and pounamu and incorporating this in his art. While Schoon had a great love of Māori art and culture, this doesn’t excuse his actions. I question the integrity of his intentions, particularly as a white man coming and using Toi Māori forms and then making a profit.

I decided to interview Aaron Lister, a co-curator of Split Level View Finder. Aaron is a Pākehā who studied art history and Māori art and later became a curator at the National Library and then the Wellington City Gallery. He believes that when it comes to appreciation vs appropriation, one should not lead to the other and they both need to be examined as concepts. Aaron said “Even the term ‘appreciation’ is too slippery” as it is not free of ideological assumptions.

© 2020 Stuff Limited

Aaron Lister

What are your thoughts on Theo Schoon’s art?

“Schoon is one of the most historically important, complex, and problematic artists this country has seen. He refused to operate within the terms that this country set for art (including, ironically, advocating for Māori art as the most authentic art made here) and did and made things that are so advanced in relation to his peers. His work advanced a certain form of modernism here which jolted the scene and was incredibly influential on a number of significant New Zealand artists.

It pushed boundaries in all sorts of ways, and in many cases overstepped and transgressed—especially in its relationship to Māori art and culture.”

What is your take on appropriation?

“It’s obviously a politicised and harmful act, an agent of the colonising process that depends on and perpetuates dominant power systems and structures. That is something you can point at in individual cases, but it’s also a larger structural and historical force. Appropriation underpins much of Aotearoa’s modern art history. That needs to be examined. And this is what we attempted to do with the exhibition of Theo Schoon’s work.” © 2020 Newsroom Limited

Theo Schoon 32

What is your take on the way Theo Schoon used

ARTS/HISTORY & POLITICS

Maori aspects in his work?

this issue?

“Schoon’s relationship to Māori art is paternalistic. He saw it as a formal language that could be learnt, mastered and then applied according to the demands of the artist (not the culture— there was little interest in learning the cultural values, knowledge and rules that were already invested in the art form). But his relationship to Māori art needs to be understood within the cultural context and time in which he was working—where Māori art was not even considered art. The ways that his work was sometimes embraced by some Māori clients, artists, cultural agencies makes his case more complex.”

“Appropriation is a Pākehā problem (‘we’ are the ones who have been doing it), and something Pākehā need to address (along, of course, with the larger, structural issues and problems it is part of). This, again, was part of the reason for doing the Theo Schoon show. Of course, Pākehā should take the lead from Māori on these issues.”

When I asked Aaron about the role of the artist, the industry, galleries and curators within the issue of appropriation, he said that “we all need to be aware of and responsive to where and when appropriation occurs, and the role it has played in our art tradition. There is also an educative element to this.” Appropriation is not just an issue in the arts world, it is an issue that is situated in the heart of our colonised country and is nurtured with ignorance and individual decisions to turn a blind eye. It comes from the racist, colonial systems we have as part of our current society: our justice, healthcare, education, housing and employment systems, and countless other colonial frameworks that have done far more harm than good.

© 2020 Stuff Limited

Gordon Walters

How about Gordon Walters, Dick Frizzell? Any other artists that come to mind?

“There are a number of artists involved in appropriation. It’s interesting to think how Gordon Walters and Theo Schoon worked together and almost collaborated on appropriation projects, yet many people still argue that either one is less or more problematic than the other. It still obviously happens today (there have been a few recent cases) but these tend to be outside of or on the margins of the contemporary art world. Of course, art is just part of the problem, appropriation happens in many forms outside of art.”

What can we do to address

From the use of the koru in Air NZ’s logo, to the thousands of plastic tikis that are pumped out of overseas factories and sold cheaply to tourists who have no knowledge of the significance and inappropriateness of what they are purchasing as they buy into a largely fabricated ‘New Zealand Experience’.

W

hile Theo Schoon is an older example of appropriation, there are countless cases that span throughout this country’s history. From the use of the koru in Air NZ’s logo, to the thousands of plastic tikis that are pumped out of overseas factories and sold cheaply to tourists who have no knowledge of the significance and inappropriateness of what they are purchasing as they buy into a largely fabricated ‘New Zealand Experience’. Recent examples include Rohyne McIlroy’s work that was briefly exhibited at the Windsor Gallery in Christchurch and Nikki Romney in Nelson whose painting featured a kuia from Ngāti Hao and Ngāti Hau, with non-Māori women wearing moko and taking selfies. Not only is this issue about how Toi Māori is appropriated but also how in most cases there is a lack of effort to understand the culture and significance behind it. Alongside this, the issue also lies in the majority of cases where the appropriated art is sold and makes a profit for the artist, a profit that is almost always more that what a Māori artist would have received for authentic Māori art. Not only do Pākehā have an easier time finding their way into the arts world, they also dominate it, making it even harder for Māori artists and other indigenous artists to create their own space and establish their own practice in a sustainable way.

Alongside this, if Māori artists do get recognition, they are often boxed in and pressured to focus on Toi Māori and promoted in a tokenistic way.

I

spoke to Aroha Millar, a young Māori artist from Wellington, who introduced herself:

Ko Ngati Ngahere, me te Ngati Rangitihi te hapu Ko Whakatohea, me Te Arawa te iwi Ko Aroha Millar toku ingoa Aroha’s experience of Toi Māori has “always been rooted in growing within a community”. She believes that it isn’t just about the art but is also about

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ARTS/HISTORY & POLITICS the relearning of the surrounding culture that was taken by colonisation.

Her practice focuses on healing her community and stimulating change.

© 2019 Massey University

Aroha Millar

What are your thoughts on the use of Maori art by artists such as Theo Schoon, Gordon Walters, Dick Frizzell?

My thoughts on [these artists] are not good ones. As someone who has struggled with feeling valid making Māori art, it is disgusting to see Pākehā artists not even think about the cultural significance behind the ‘patterns’ they use.

Or in Dick Frizzell’s case the Māori designs he disgraces. Furthermore, these artists are praised within the art world for being visionaries when Māori artists have been doing the exact same things years before. The problem with cultural appropriation by anyone who does not have the whakapapa is that they take up space that Māori artists should have, and then fill that space with the idea that it is okay to use these designs without understanding the immense cultural and social significance behind them.

Artists like Theo Schoon, Gordon Walters, and Dick Frizzell silence the voices of the Toi Māori world by stealing from Māori and being praised for it.

What do you think defines appreciation and appropriation?

I think the difference between is the character of the artist, but if your art is visibly Māori, Pasifika, or any culture that is not yours, immediately it becomes cultural appropriation. Another main point is if you are making money off of stolen visuals then it’s appropriation, but if you are doing a community/group project or you are just visually learning about Māori art then that’s appreciation. Māori design and kaupapa hold our history before and under colonisation. It does not matter how much someone who is not Māori understands about the whakapapa of these designs, neither them or their ancestors have lived in society as Māori. It is okay to sympathise and take inspiration through the kaupapa. Make your own patterns, relearn your own whakapapa like all Māori artists have done

“I think the difference between them is the character of the artist” What is the role of the artist, the industry, galleries and curators in this issue of appropriation?

Artists need to be constantly learning and critiquing their own work because no matter how much people call artists out for cultural appropriation it’s all up to them to change. If the industry, galleries, and curators continue to give space to artists whose work depends on cultural appropriation, Māori voices will continue to be silenced. There

“Appropriation underpins much of Aotearoa’s modern art history.”

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needs to be more Māori and educated Pākehā in curator roles so that Toi Māori have people fighting for their art already in museum spaces. I think It’s important to have these hard conversations about cultural appropriation because artists’, like Dick Frizzell’s, career depend on people’s support.

As long as we support authentic Toi Māori and denounce cultural appropriation, space for Māori whakapapa and ideologies will continue to grow.

© 2019 Aroha Millar

Pungene by Aroha Millar

I

fully agree with Aroha, and I feel such outrage for the whole of Te Ao Māori. To not only have your land stolen, your people killed, your culture suppressed, but then have one of the only things that you can use to express yourself, appropriated and exploited for money by the very people who colonised and caused damage in the first place is horrific. The thing is that it isn’t just art that’s being appropriated, Toi Māori holds so many deeply rooted ties with Māori culture, whakapapa, language and belief. It has always been such a fundamental form of communication and a way of storytelling and documenting history.

With the overwhelming wave of colonisation also came the repression of

ARTS/HISTORY & POLITICS

WHAT CAN WE DO TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE?

KUPU:

t is our obligation as Pākehā to resolve this issue. I am well aware that it is not a quick fix, immense damage has been done over the years and it will take years to restore the balance and correct what our ancestors (and we ourselves) have done. This is a marathon where we will have to continuously fight for equality, both in the arts world and our society as a whole.

Whether it is supporting/buying from a Māori artist, advocating for them, not supporting artists who have appropriated indigenous art, writing letters to galleries, councils or the government, or having those tricky conversations with friends and family who don’t understand the importance of taking responsibility to make a change, these are all actions that will contribute to creating an equal society. While organisations like Creative New Zealand provide good funding for Māori and Pasifika artists and projects, this is not enough. It is everyone’s responsibility to step in because right now, the system in our country works in a way that allows Pākehā to benefit at the expense of Māori and other minorities, if you still don’t think this is wrong, I don’t know what’s left to tell you.

- Whakairo

I © 2019 Aroha Millar

Mary 1 by Aroha Millar anything Māori including Toi Māori which only furthered how deeply the culture loss was felt. In the first place, this caused a huge amount of damage and even now, affects contemporary Māori artists and their work, Māori communities, individuals and particularly rangatahi. With the lack of representation that comes from the systematic racism and oppression of Māori, there also comes a gap in the support and visibility of Māori artists. When Toi Māori isn’t represented, the value of it is not being seen and people begin to practise it less. This lack perpetuates the racist idea that Māori are lesser and don’t deserve to be represented, when in fact the reality is the complete opposite. Te Ao Māori should be uplifted and held and nurtured. A loss of value for art in any culture represents a loss of importance in language, customs, and self-determination.

“Maori design and kaupapa hold our history before and under colonisation.”

- Toi Maori Māori art Carving

- Te Ao Maori The Māori world

- Wahine Women

- Te Ika-a-Maui The North Island

- Te Waipounamu The South Island

- Tapu Sacred

- Ngai Tahu An iwi in the South Island

- Kuia Grandmother/female elder

- Ngati Hao A hapu from Ngāpuhi

- Ngati Hau An iwi from Whanganui

- Ta moko A Māori face tattoo that is considered tapu

- Kaupapa theme/subject/purpose

- Whakapapa Genealogy

- Rangatahi Young people

COOL INDIGENOUS ARTISTS:

© 2019 Aroha Millar

Untitled work by Aroha Millar

Lisa Reihana Aroha Millar Michael Parekowhai Amiria Puia-Taylor Janet Lilo Kauri Hawkins 35

HISTORY & POLITICS

Privilege Vs Prejudice Checking your white privilege and educating yourself on the racial inequality in Aotearoa

H

ave you ever been told you’re pretty ‘despite’ your race? Have you ever been praised on how ‘eloquent’ you are? Have you ever been complimented on how ‘exotic’ you look? Have you ever been followed around a shop by a worker because they thought you were stealing? Have you ever been repeatedly questioned on ‘where you’re really from’ because apparently ‘New Zealand’ isn’t a good enough answer? If these questions are unfamiliar to you, you’re probably not a person of colour, but hey, guess what! To the White people of Wellington High School, this article is for you. This is aimed at those who are decently uneducated on the topic of racism and White privilege in New Zealand. My apologies to the Māori, Pasifika, Asian, Black or Brown people reading, the information in this piece is unfortunately probably not going to be news to you. Black and Brown people understand and notice White privilege a lot faster than Pākehā do because generally, it’s pretty invisible to those who benefit from it. For minorities in Aotearoa, experiencing racism is sadly a daily reality. Most people will already have a pretty good grasp on what racism actually is, but do you understand it’s place in New Zealand?

I

n order to even begin to understand racism and its place in New Zealand’s society, a quick history lesson on the colonisation of our country will be beneficial. Māori arrived here in Aotearoa at least

36

800-1000 years ago, well before any Europeans came along. In the late eighteenth century, British explorer Captain James Cook sailed to the shores of New Zealand. The Declaration of Independence was signed by Māori rangatira in 1835, just 5 years before Te Tiriti o Waitangi was signed. There were a few pretty big differences between the Māori and English versions of the treaty. On the New Zealand History website, an article on the differences between the texts explains that “in the English text, Māori leaders gave the Queen ‘all the rights and powers of sovereignty’ over their land. In the Māori text, Māori leaders gave the Queen ‘te kawanatanga katoa’ or the complete government over their land.” By 1858, after some English military invasions, the White population in New Zealand grew to the same amount as Māori. From then on, the White population continued to grow larger in size compared to the Māori population as more European settlers arrived. In the 1860s, the Waikato War ended with the removal of large areas of land from Māori ownership. The Native Land Court, which was one of the essential products of the Native Lands Act of 1865, forcibly split up Māori landholdings, to make it easier for Pākehā to purchase Māori land.

Racism is deeply embedded in New Zealand’s past.

Too often is it dismissed as something that has not directly stemmed from the colonisation and mistreatment of indigenous people.

HISTORY & POLITICS

Image: Phil Walter

A

lot of White people disagree with the idea that racism is an issue here in New Zealand. This is probably because they’ve never seen or experienced it themselves.They sit smugly in front of their televisions watching the news, thinking about how great it is that New Zealand isn’t as racist as America. They thank the heavens that kiwi police officers don’t hold the same unconscious bias towards Black and Brown people as American officers do. These assumptions made by White New Zealanders are inaccurate. It becomes harmful when too many people think this way. According to an article written by Meriana Johnsen for RNZ, “data shows that Māori are far more likely - almost nine times more likely - to have a dog set upon them, or to have an armed response in relation to policing.”

This police brutality towards Māori people is just a surface level manifestation of the deeper systemic racism that exists here in New Zealand. When interviewed on whether she thinks racism is a problem in Aotearoa, Nova Waretini-Hewison, a 17-year-old young Māori woman, explained that “if you look at our justice system, it was built upon oppressing Māori people”. Did you know Māori people make up 50 percent of the prison population, despite only making up 16 percent of the general population?

This information alone refutes any claim that racism isn’t a problem in New Zealand. In order to fix the issue as to why there are so many Māori people behind bars, we must first look at the economic

deprivation of Māori communities that stem directly from the colonisation of New Zealand. Remember earlier, from the short lesson on our colonial history, when I talked about how the Native Land Court forcibly split up Māori landholdings to make it easier for White people to purchase Māori land?

Well, this loss of economic power pushed Māori people to other ways of survival, which are now punished by the colonial justice system. So next time you hear someone arguing that the reason there is such a high percentage of Māori in jail is because they commit more crime, maybe explain to them why this is, and how it directly stems from the colonisation of New Zealand.

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n Aotearoa, some of the time small acts of racism can get swept under the rug, and larger, more horrific acts, like the Christchurch mosque shooting of 2019, get dismissed as ‘one-offs’. Racism in New Zealand isn’t new, and has always been a problem. One in three complaints to the Human Rights Comission are about racial discrimination. An awesome quote that I pinched from Moana Jackson explains how racism has been “developed over time through a complex and uniquely European history, in which the normal curiosity people have about the different and unknown was morphed into a patronising determination to equate difference with inferiority”. For too long the truth of racism has been denied or dismissed in our country. There is

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HISTORY & POLITICS a misinformed belief here that the colonisation of Aotearoa was ‘all in good faith’, and as a result, racist acts have been seen and treated as isolated incidents. They are rarely seen as the result of colonisation itself. White people are the ones privileged enough to view racism in this way, and not as a systemic part of our society.

Having White privilege doesn’t mean you have had an easy life, it just means that the colour of your skin isn’t something that’s making your life harder.

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o, what exactly is White privilege? The official Oxford Dictionary definition of the phrase is the ‘inherent advantages possessed by a White person on the basis of their race in a society characterized by racial inequality and injustice’. Let me be very clear, however, to those reading this thinking ‘Hey, I’m White, and I’ve still had a really tough life!’.

No one disagrees with you. Having White privilege doesn’t mean you have had an easy life, it just means that the colour of your skin isn’t something that’s making your life harder. White privilege is a social construct - it stems directly from the idea that to be White is the ‘norm’ or that it’s the ‘neutral’ race. Nova explained that White privilege is almost more like “light skin privilege”. Privilege between skin tones is like a tier list. White people are the most privileged, and the darkest skinned Black people are the least privileged. White people will hold more privilege than light skinned Black people, and they will hold more privilege than dark skinned Black people. When I interviewed Nova, she explained that she first remembers feeling different to her White peers when she came to high school. Teachers started calling upon her in class “for things Māori related” thinking she’d know the answer. But Nova wasn’t there, “a 13 year old, to educate teachers on New Zealand history”. That wasn’t her responsibility. If anything, when teachers only called upon Nova, a Māori girl, for her to explain things about Māori history, it just made her feel even more different to her Pākehā peers. It made her feel as though she was seen as “different” or “other”. In our interview she told me that “for a little bit, I didn’t tell people, I pretended I

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was White, because I could get away with it. But that hurt my spirit.”

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hite privilege is most commonly seen in the little aspects of day to day life. If you are White, things like band-aids are made to blend into your skin tone. Your race is extremely well represented in the media. Barbie dolls share the same skin tone as you. The main character in your favourite book series will most likely be White. Makeup is made to fit your skin tone. In primary school, if you asked your teacher for a ‘skin-coloured’ pencil, they would give you a peachy-toned one. But then it doesn’t just include these fairly mundane things.

If you are White, you will generally be respected by the police. White people have the privilege of being sheltered from racism in their day to day lives.

White people have the privilege of not having to be interested in politics and be politically active, because generally, either way, they will be the ones to benefit for whatever is voted for. White people have the privilege to learn and be educated on racism when they want to. They aren’t forced to understand it from a very young age, because it won’t ever directly affect them.

White people have the privilege to learn and be educated on racism when they want to. They aren’t forced to understand it from a very young age, because it won’t ever directly affect them.

Even for me, writing this article, I am in an extremely privileged position. I am a White person, explaining racism and White privilege to other White people. I have the privilege to be able to share this information, and they will most likely listen to me. I am fully aware that I will never understand what it’s really like to live as a person of colour in Aotearoa, and I have blind spots when it comes to the topic of racism and White privilege. I recognise that being educated and knowledgeable on these topics is extremely important, and will be a lifelong commitment.

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hite people: you’ve read and understood this article, and now you’re probably curious as to what you can do next and how you can help.

First of all, it’s so important to educate yourself on racism in general, as well as its place specifically in New Zealand. You can’t rely on others to inform you. People of colour don’t owe you a conversation on race and racism. Understand that if you really want to be a better White person, you have to realise this is a lifetime of making active choices and educating yourself. It‘s not going to be some five minute conversation that will fix the unconscious bias all White people hold within. Become best friends with discomfort. For too long White people have been too comfortable, because we are privileged enough to not have to care about racism, as it is not affecting us. It’s important that we look within ourselves, and examine the unconscious bias we all hold towards people of colour. Even those of us who claim to be the biggest anti-racists we know will still hold biased opinions. We can intend to be unbiased, but if we find that we are in some ways, we should be open to dealing with it and fixing it. Pākehā need to be politically active, making conscious choices about who they vote for.

They need to ensure that this person will stand up for minorities and protect their rights. And for anyone thinking to themselves, “I’m not interested in politics, so I won’t vote”, understand that this in itself is a huge privilege. How lucky we are, that we don’t have to use our vote in order to fight for our rights. How lucky we are, that we will always be protected no matter who is in office.

You can’t rely on others to inform you.

People of colour don’t owe you a conversation on race and racism.

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ith a past as unfair and as unjust as Aotearoa’s, racism has become sewn into the very fabric that makes up our country’s flag. It sits at the bottom of Lake Taupo. It hides embedded under snow at the top of Mount Ruapehu. It blows in the wind. It crunches underfoot. It hides in casual conversation. In parliament. In law. It is not enough to just ‘not be racist’ anymore. In order to be an ally, you must be actively anti racist . You have to look within and examine the unconscious bias you may hold inside of yourself. You have to stand up for minorities even when they’re not in the room. As a White person, you must elevate people of colour’s voices. They are the experts on racism. They experience it every day. You have to call your friends and family out for racist and insensitive jokes. You have to have those awkward and hard and scary conversations about race and White privilege. After all, if a conversation is hard, it’s probably one worth having.

By Beanie Lee Image: Paul S Allen

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Is Mary Jane Coming To New Zealand?

The 2020 Cannabis Referendum

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ope, kush, the Devils lettuce, mary jane, ganja, refer, pot, weed, cannabis. Aotearoa’s favorite plant could be coming to a store near you following this September referendum. Although 80% of New Zealanders have smoked cannabis there is still debate as to whether it is a friend or a foe. While we are starting to see cannabis return to the world there is still a sizable number of people within New Zealand and throughout the world who’re staunchly against its legalisation. But I can’t think of a good reason for us to keep cannabis criminalized if we live within a country that sells Alcohol and Tobacco, can you?

Although 80% of New Zealanders have smoked cannabis there is still debate as to whether it is a friend or a foe.

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e expect our Government to make educated and well informed decisions. Well I have bad news for you if that is the expectation you hold, our Government did not criminalize cannabis over well educated reasoning, but instead to follow a trend set in place by America, because of propaganda and fear mongering. For us to understand why New Zealand originally criminalized cannabis and why we should decriminalize it, we must first understand the false narrative America painted around cannabis. The American Alcohol Prohibition was a nation wide constitutional ban that

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outlawed the production, importation, transportation, and sale of any and all alcoholic beverages across America. The only reason for cannabis being criminalized, is due a mix of racism and self-interest within the American Government.

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arry J. Anslinger, a man who had a successful career during his time as the first Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, or the FBN for short. He is also the man we can attribute to America’s cannabis criminalization too. When Anslinger took office in August of 1930, just four months before the end of the Prohibition, as the Commissioner for the FBN. While the end of the prohibition on alcohol was cause for celebration for many, for Anslinger is presented a problem.

Without alcohol the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was essentially obsolete, while this may seem surprising, you must understand that this was the 1930s, a time where LSD hadn’t even been invented, and cocaine was essentially unheard of in America. The number of drugs in the

HISTORY & POLITICS world then was but a tiny fraction of what we now have available. Moving back to Anslinger, the man was determined not to lose the lush Government position he had received,so he began what can only be described as a propaganda campaign against the next closest thing to alcohol, cannabis. Now Anslinger, previous to the Federal Bureau of Narcotic becoming obsolete, had no problem with cannabis, and according to his wikipedia article he claimed that cannabis was not a problem and that it did not harm people.

first politician to avidly advocate for cannabis legalization, that man is known as Nandor Tanczos. Nandor Tanczos may be a name today that very few of the younger generation know, but back in the early 2000s this man made headlines in his support for cannabis, and its benefits.

And he was no minor politician, at one point in 2006 Nandor was a contender to be the next leader of the Green Party, however in the end he lost the vote. With

The lengths the U.S Government took in order to demonize cannabis was madness, reefer madness.

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n the following years, Anslinger got down on his hands and knees to scrub the ‘filth’ of cannabis from America’s soil. The lengths the U.S Government took in order to demonize cannabis was madness, reefer madness. Which coincidentally was also the name for an anti-cannabis propaganda film, ‘Reefer Madness’, this is ‘film’ was released in 1936 with the intention of showing how cannabis can ruin lives. While at the time it was praised for being ‘educational’ on the risks of cannabis, today you could say that ‘Reefer Madness’ aged like milk, with many of the ‘educational’ claims on cannabis it made being found to be wildly false. Although we may know its claims of cannabis to be false today, back in the 1930s they didn’t have the same knowledge we had, and so this anti-cannabis agenda began to spread, eventually reaching New Zealand where cannabis was criminalized in 1965.

MIKE SCOTT

Nandor Tanczos

years of avocation and knowledge under his belt I knew Nandor was someone worth getting in contact with to ask questions surrounding cannabis and many of its misconceptions.

“You just need to read some of the bizarre comments made by opponents on the MakeItLegal FB page to know that reefer madness is alive and kicking in parts of the population. Stuff like ‘cannabis rots the brain’, ‘cannabis sends people mad’, ‘cannabis leads to hard drugs’.

Some of the assumptions that some people make about those who enjoy cannabis are really out there (everyone is a loser addict on the dole and neglecting their kids).

Of course the deliberate spreading of misinformation by

ART/GETTY IMAGES

“Some of the assumptions that some people make about those who enjoy cannabis are really out there”

Reefer Madness Poster

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ime skip, it is the early two thousands, cannabis has been criminalized for thirty five years. That is thirty five years of not being able to enjoy a phat doink, and some people are starting to see past the false picture that had been painted by American propaganda, although supporters were still few and far between, and barely any of these supporters held a title outside of ‘stoner’. Despite this lack of well respected cannabis advocates there was one man who can be noted as the

Family First in particular doesn’t help. They have deep pockets courtesy of funding by conservative right wing christian groups in the USA.” (Nandor Tanczos).

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fter being presented this information from Nandor I can not help but feel the sneaking suspicion that maybe cannabis isn’t as bad as it has been portrayed over the years. Though there is a question some of you may have, “Sure cannabis isn’t that bad, but aren’t we better off keeping cannabis criminalized instead of legalizing it, afterall we won’t gain much from its legalization.” Well that is where I must disagree once again, as cannabis can provide a large amount of socio-economic as well as economic benefit. Some of New Zealand’s largest problems at the moment are ones that are concerning poverty, housing, and more. It has become an increasingly concerning problem over the years

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HISTORY & POLITICS start to see a decrease in homelessness. lternatively we can look to how increased funding in the medical industry could aid us. Nurses much like teachers do a lot of work for us, caring for us while we are in hospital, they are the backbone of the medical industry and despite this they are criminally underpaid with the average with most newly registered

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Grant Robertson with New Zealand being the 17th most expensive country to live in, according to an article recently published by Newshub. It is a dire situation we are currently facing, New Zealand is becoming too expensive, but there is a crutch we can take to at least help us move forward, and that crutch is cannabis.

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annabis has the potential to create new jobs for the New Zealand people, bring in more tax revenue, and increase funding to our public education and health systems. And these benefits aren’t just my own speculations, they come from the Minister of Finance too. I contacted Grant Roberston and asked him about whether he believed New Zealand could benefit on both a socio-economic and economic level. He had this to say in response: “A fully legalised cannabis supply chain would create new jobs, increase revenue to the Crown (in the form of excise, levy, and company tax), and have the potential for increased spending in public education and health. It’s not possible to specifically estimate how many new jobs could be created as yet. The modelling done to date has focussed on what a legal cannabis regime would look like and has not extended to a detailed analysis of the full range of economic impacts. In the end all of this is up to New Zealanders and what they decide in the upcoming referendum.”

“A fully legalised cannabis supply chain would create new jobs” These words aren’t from some stoner on the street who may have a strong smell of cannabis reeking off of them, these are the words from New Zealand’s Minister of Finance, the man who holds a position in parliament second only to our Prime Minister. You can say what you want about cannabis however you cannot argue against the words of a man who would know better than anyone else about how cannabis could affect our country on a socio-economic and economic level. Increased spending on the public health and education systems would be incredibly beneficial for New Zealand as a whole, with increased spending on our education systems better education and learning would be provided to all New Zealand children and teenagers the like. Increasing the quality of education provided means we are also increasing the likelihood of young people getting higher paying jobs, this will mean that in the future we could eventually

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Increasing the quality of education provided means we are also increasing the likelihood of young people getting higher paying jobs nurses make no more than $54,000 per year, this may sound like a lot of money to High School students, however in the grand scheme when you consider that these newly graduated nurses are renting and having to buy their own food, pay for power and water, when you take those things into accountant the amount they’re making per year is significantly lower. Meanwhile you look to a general practitioner, a freshly graduated general practitioner makes between 80k to 100k per year, this is a 26k difference in income between general practitioners and nurses. Increased funding to the medical industry thanks to cannabis legalization would be a great step in the right direction to ensure that nurses are no longer under paid. Another benefit to increased funding in the medical industry is the potential for our government to further subidise the medical industry. If we look at countries such as America who’s health system is so poor American citizens are catching Ubers to the hospital instead of calling an ambulance, we can see that New Zealand’s medical industry is in a much better place, but it doesn’t mean we

There is still an opportunity to further subsidise our medical sector, allowing it to become even more affordable for New Zealand citizens. are perfect. There is still an opportunity to further subsidise our medical sector, allowing it to become even more affordable for New Zealand citizens. Who wouldn’t be interested in cheaper healthcare?

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he socio-economic benefits that cannabis could provide are great, these benefits could greatly help New Zealanders and could help further New Zealand become a better country. Cannabis however won’t only help on a socio-economic level, it also has the ability to greatly improve New Zealand’s economy, and when we are living in a time where the world economy is shaky because of Covid-19, it is important that we work towards improving the economic state of our country. Taxes, for many it may be a dreaded word however taxes is how our Government is able to afford so many benefits for New Zealand citizens, and how they are able to fund so many of our sectors. And like the Minister of Finance previously mentioned, “A fully legalised cannabis supply chain would create new jobs, increase revenue

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to the Crown (in the form of excise, levy, and company tax), and have the potential for increased spending in public education and health.” But how much tax would our government generate from legalizing this green bud?

That’s what I asked the President of the Aotearoa Legalize Cannabis Party, Mike Britnell.

“We have worked it out from an average consumer number here in New Zealand of the population, about 400,000 consumers (NORML NZ) who spend a conservative $50.00 per week. This equates to $20,000,000 (20 million) per week x 52 weeks equals $1,040,000,000.00 approximate 1 billion dollars x 30% average Taxes = $300,000,000.00 (Three hundred million for the government coffers) Some of these taxes, we hope will be spent on the health system, education and social services. This figure is just for the Personal use industry. Apart from that we have the Medicinal side which we believe is worth even more as it is a more specialised market. So double the above figure without adding in the cash value of the Hemp Industry – explained below, which we believe may quadruple the above figures when you see what it is able to produce.”

That’s $300mill in taxes each year, that is $300mill that can be put towards our education and health sectors, $300mill that can be put towards providing free univer-

In 2018 California was bringing in a total of $2.756 Billion US dollars in revenue through their cannabis market.

sity for all students, $300mill towards the New Zealand people, that leaves nearly $700mill in revenue generated from the sale of legal cannabis within New Zealand. his estimated revenue from a New Zealand cannabis market is merely an estimate for when we first establish the market, the cannabis market has potential to further grow and develop as time goes on, we only need to look to the American state of California to see this. In an article published by Forbes and written by Andrew DePietro in 2018, it is revealed that at the time of the article in 2018 California was bringing in a total of $2.756 Billion US dollars in revenue through their cannabis market. Though this was during 2018, when looking to the total revenue brought in through cannabis sales in California during 2019 we can see a 20% increase in revenue with the total revenue for the California cannabis market growing to roughly $3 Billion US dollars, that is around $300 million dollars more brought in than the previous year. New Zealand’s total revenue for our can-

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nabis market would come nowhere close to the California market, and that’s no surprise seeing in the fact that California’s total population is significantly larger than the entirety of New Zealand. The reason I speak about this is not so we can get a closer idea to how much revenue New Zealand’s cannabis market would generate, instead it is to get the point across that we shouldn’t be looking at the total revenue that’ll be generated from the cannabis market as a flat amount. Instead the revenue and thereby the taxes collected by our government from the cannabis market will increase over time, this would lead to further spending in public sectors which would lead to further benefit for New Zealand Citizens.

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annabis can provide a wide range of benefits, though that doesn’t mean I’m doubting the fact that there are risks to cannabis, not even Nandor, a man who has been campaigning for Cannabis legalization for years can ignore that there are some risks, and he in fact had this to say on the risks that cannabis can hold.

“There are definitely people who should not use cannabis so I see arguments against why some people should not use. In particular it is pretty clear that while most people use cannabis moderately without ill effect, a few do have problems. That is more likely to happen for those who start young and use heavily. Given that cannabis use rates stay about the same in countries that legalise and regulate the market, that is not an argument against changing the law. In fact use goes down for underage use (probably as a result of introducing an age limit) so the most problematic use declines. Use does go up among under 65year olds - the only people deterred by the law it seems and the least problematic users.”

To expand on Nandors point of minors using cannabis,

Regulating cannabis means that we’ll be eliminating the black market.

some parents and community figures may carry concern that if we legalize cannabis it’ll become more accessible amongst the youth. Noble is the only way I can think to describe this concern, of course we should be concerned about the wellbeing of our country’s youth, afterall they’ll be our future leaders. However just because a concern is noble doesn’t mean it is right, regulating cannabis means that we’ll be eliminating the black market, this black market isn’t some secret underground market, the black market is some guy on the street who’ll sell to you, not caring if you’re an adult or youth. So would you rather have the denizens of New Zealand smoking cannabis that could have been laced with various substances which they brought from some shadowy figure they randomly met? Or smoking government regulated cannabis that is sold by licensed individuals who are monitored by the government and who would refuse selling to any minors.

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OUTB HISTORY & POLITICS

A school is a perfect breeding ground for infection. 2020’s Covid-19 pandemic provided a threat to educational facilities up and down the country. So how did Wellington High School survive the epidemics and health crises it has been faced with in the past?

Wellington High School has a rich history that dates back to 1886 with Mr. A.D.Riley’s establishment of the Wellington School of Design. The school has evolved beyond recognition through the decades, with different locations, buildings, uniforms, and curriculum. Now in its 134th year, Wellington High School (WHS) has lived through its fair share of major events, earthquakes, national disasters (like the Tangiwai railway accident, Wahine shipwreck, and the Mt Erebus air crash), and two world wars. Along with these disasters, the school has weathered many different national and global health crises including the 1918-19 Influenza pandemic, the Polio epidemics of 1916, 1925, and 1948, and most recently the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

In order to learn more about Wellington High School’s past, I spoke to the school’s resident archivist Carey Clements in the archives situated above the staffroom in the main block. When I asked him what health crises the school has come up against

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he produced an extensive list dating back to 1891 with a Pertussis outbreak. Now more commonly known as Whooping Cough, in 1891 pertussis caused 24 deaths in Wellington alone, and 242 deaths nationwide.

It was now clear to me that the threat posed by COVID 19, although seemingly unprecedented, was nothing the school hadn’t battled with before.

The pertussis outbreak was followed by a long list of Greek and Latin compounds that summarized the symptoms or appearance of a virus, disease, or infection. Pertussis: per [english] - away, extremely + tussis [latin] - to cough.

One name that stood out on this list was Influenza. Influenza: influentia (medieval latin) - influence, named given as it was once thought that the disease was caused by the influence of the stars. In 1918, New Zealand was celebrating victory and the end of the Great War, but there was another demon lurking beneath the surface.

Little did people know that these mass gatherings for armistice celebrations would result in numerous clusters - a term we’ve become very familiar with in 2020 - of influenza. Bouts of Influenza (flu) make an appearance every winter in New Zealand and often claims the lives of either the elderly or the immunocompromised. This pales in comparison

to the destruction it unleashed on the country in 1918.

The influenza epidemic of 1918 shook the country and the world. New Zealand troops, recently returned from Europe, brought with them a flu which proved deadly to thousands of the New Zealander’s. With a death toll of around 9000, it remains New Zealand’s worst health crisis. Touch wood. Wellington Technical College as WHS was known then, was in the middle of restructuring when the pandemic struck. The nation had experienced a teaching shortage during the war when many of the young teachers were called up to fight for the commonwealth overseas.

During that time the college had felt the impact of the war first hand, with some students not returning from active service. In 1919 the school was changing leadership, Principal LaTrobe had left to take up a new role as the Chairman of the Wellington Technical Education Board, and Mr. Henry Howell the current director of the Christchurch Technical College had been elected as his replacement.

However, Mr. Howell was indisposed

BREAK

By Ian Blackburn With Thanks to Carey Clements

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in Christchurch recovering from influenza himself. Thankfully Howell recovered and was able to take up his position before the end of the school year.

During the pandemic, the cookery class saw an opportunity to help out the wounded community around them. The department was called upon to cater for transport drivers and other essential workers who were tirelessly working around the clock, caring for the sick. For three weeks, night and day, meals were prepared by students, staff, and other volunteers. Food was sent out to stricken homes. According to the school’s centenary book “Riley to Royal” “Meals for over 2,500 people were cooked and served during this period.” Another disease that appeared frequently on Mr. Clement’s list was “Polio”.

Short for poliomyelitis: polio [greek] - grey + myelos [greek] - marrow + itis [greek] - inflammation. So-called because when infected with the virus the grey matter in the spinal cord is inflamed, causing paralysis. The many bouts of Polio in the first half of the 20th century was due to the absence of a vaccine. It wasn’t until the 1950s that one was developed. The virus used to be known as infantile paralysis due to the high infection rate among infants. However, it is no longer referred to like this because the virus does not exclusively infect infants. New Zealand was struck hard

by polio in 1916 causing 123 deaths nationwide and again in 1925 resulting in 173 deaths nationwide. The virus reared its ugly head again around the mid-century with the epidemic of 1948-49 claiming 65 lives nationwide and further resurgences in 1952 and 55 each claiming a further 80 New Zealand lives. The polio epidemic of 1955-56 is regarded as the country’s last major epidemic.

When I asked Mr. Clements how the steps the school had taken to combat viruses in the past, he stated that “It was a waiting game really”. In the same way that our school waited in 2020 for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s announcement that we would be moving to level 4 until the school closed, in days of old the school’s principal was known as the director.

Would wait for the official word from the ministry of education. There have been many temporary closures of the school as a result of health crises. The school closed its doors in 1918 due to the threat of the influenza pandemic. For five weeks in the 1925 polio outbreak. During the closure of 1948 as a direct result of the polio outbreak, the school was closed for eight weeks, meaning the first term did not begin until March. The school was also compelled to shut a week early in 1947. In the 1948 school review Mr. Ridling the Director at the time reflected on the closure, describing the school as:

“just an empty barracks when there were no young people thronging the corridors and rooms to give the building life”.

The school community has not avoided cases. During the Polio epidemic of 1948, a further two weeks were lost due to a case in the school. Resulting in the winter holidays being extended by two weeks. In more recent history the measles outbreak of 2019 - which will undoubtedly be overshadowed

by Covid-19 in the history books touched WHS. When measles was bubbling up in Auckland a few cases were sprouting up in Wellington, with a singular case confirmed among WHS students. Thankfully it was dealt with efficiently and no cluster was formed, with no additional cases within the school. WHS never had to close its doors.

During previous school closures, just as in 2020, students par-took in lessons by post. Mr. Clements reminded me that the school used to be a technical college that specialised

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HISTORY & POLITICS in creating young men and women ready to join the workforce. With courses like engineering, carpentry, and hospitality along with the basics: writing, reading, and arithmetic.

This meant that the type of learning that most WHS students participated in over the Covid-19 lockdown would look very different to that of the school’s students 100 years ago.

Google Meet, a program I don’t think I will ever use again was my only way of structuring my day for seven weeks. But in a time before technology students par-took in classes by post. Mr. Clements suggested that the carpentry student might have been asked to build a pencil box for example. For the engineering classes, for whom smelting and welding metal at home was not possible, they may have been encouraged to focus on the core subjects. As with the 2020 lockdown where parents struggled to fill the role of teachers. For the so-called “women’s subjects” like cooking the children’s mothers were called upon to judge their daughter’s cooking and report back to their teacher. The 1948 review stated that during the year’s closure “... day pupils had a taste of postal lessons. This perhaps made some of our students realise that a large number of young people in New Zealand depend upon correspondence lessons for their education. Our students could not test themselves properly at working under this system of tuition, since the scheme organised at the

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college was just beginning to get underway when the day classes opened normally. And certainly, teachers would rather have classes in front of them than mountains of paperwork to mark.” A sigh of relief, that - I have it on good authority was mirrored by many teachers in 2020, for whom leading online classes was not ideal.

In an education review from 1919, it states that examinations were canceled in 1918 due to Influenza.

Grades were instead given off of the respective teacher’s evaluation of a student’s previous work. Interestingly the review states that the number of students obtaining certificates of proficiency “was higher than usual” with %73.6 of candidates obtaining the certificate in 1918, compared to 67 percent in 1917. This is the best evidence-based justification I’ve heard for internal assessments. However, the review suggested that there was a tendency for teachers to “accept too low a standard of merit” so “the usual method of awarding these certificates is still to be preferred” Thankfully in 2020 internal assessments are a huge part of NCEA and the work we do in class and indeed

at home is not stripped down to a single exam at the end of the year.

When reflecting on the health crises of the past Mr. Clements stated that “we are so much more advanced now”. Though the battles we may face are the same, what we are facing them with is much stronger. Science is the most advanced it has ever been.

It’s near impossible that Covid-19 will linger around for decades from now. There will likely be a vaccine within the next few years. School via correspondence, although not ideal for teachers and students alike, was made so much easier with technology. Living in the digital age comes with its benefits. We are in the best possible place we have ever been in to fight a pandemic. We will weather this storm and emerge from the clouds strong and full of life, as we have done so many times before.

Covid-19, Coronavirus: corona [latin] - crown or wreath + virus [latin] poisonous substance. So-called for the virus’ appearance under a microscope. Another Latin at the end of a long list. Wellington High School will live through this pandemic and will continue to forge on into the future, carrying with it the stories of its past.

Photo from: nzhistory.govt.nz

HISTORY & POLITICS

Dan Harward Jones

© 2020 UN Youth New Zealand

HORMONES AND POLITICS Today’s youth are more politically engaged than ever, but can they affect change when the decision makers wont take them seriously?

M

y first experience in the youth political sphere was a Model UN event. I was a soft spoken year 11, scared to death in a massive lecture theater surrounded by people who were smarter, louder, and more fluent in the language of social interaction than me. I managed to speak once during the entire two day event, and vowed never to go back. This new environment, filled with inaccessible slang and people I didn’t know, seemed foreign to me. I felt out of place. This was my first foray into the world of youth politics and, despite efforts by organisers to make the event friendly to new kids, I felt alienated. This is the experience of many kids who, despite their interest in politics, find it impossible to get involved in the complex world of youth politics. It took me forcing myself to go back, and to a certain extent, luck, for me to integrate into this weird world.

What is “Youth Politics”?

Okay, so you’ve started reading this article and you’re confused.

“What is Model UN?” I hear you ask, or perhaps you are baffled at the thought of political parties

having youth wings. This is fine, I will explain everything to you.

This sphere of future politicians, nerds, and loudmouths is surprisingly insular. In fact, most people don’t even know we exist.

First let’s start with youth political wings. I, myself, am a member of Young Labour, something I will admit for the sake of transparency. Each party, (yes, even NZ First,) has a youth political wing.

Each is filled with aspiring politicians aged roughly between 16 to 24, all jockeying for power within their organisation’s structure.

These organisations exist for a few reasons. Firstly, to satisfy the egos of power hungry youth, and secondly, to push their respective party to take policy stances that will benefit youth. Young Labour, for example, goes to Labour policy conferences to advocate for changes like lowering the voting age.

These aren’t the only institutions that aim to foster youth engagement. Activist groups like School Strike for Climate are also recruiting youth, perhaps more successfully than youth wings, and high school debating continues to spit out self righteous egomaniacs.

(Take this with a grain of salt but I will not censor my opinions.) the need for my younger self to

Dan is the International Secretary of Young Labour, Co-Director of Make It 16, a member of the UN Youth Wellington Regional Council, and... well I could go on. I first encountered Dan at a local UN Youth event in 2018. He has the kind of statesman-like personality which makes his presence at such an event hard to ignore. Dan is a proud socialist and loves singing union songs whenever he gets the chance.

Ella Flavell

© 2020 Actors Agents Association of New Zealand

Ella holds a myriad of roles that could compete with Dan’s extensive list, most notably she is the Women’s Secretary of Young Labour. Also a UN Youth Alumni, she has worked on a number of events, including this year’s Wellington Model UN. Ella is also a residential assistant at a university hall, she brings empathy and compassion to all of her work. Both Dan and Ella are involved with Make it 16, the youth led organisation trying to extend the voting age to 16.

William Wood

© 2020 New Zealand National Party

47

HISTORY & POLITICS William is, simply put, a politician. He dresses and speaks like a man 30 years his senior and certainly seems to have more experience under his belt than his age would suggest. At only 18 he is a candidate for the National Party in the Palmerston North Electorate, facing off against seasoned MP and Minister Ian Lees-Galloway.

William has been interested in politics “for as long as he can remember,” and seems determined to get into Parliament.

Another UN Youth alumni who firmly believes that the organisation has had a large impact on his knowledge and understanding of the world.

Marcail Parkinson

© Jason Dorday/Stuff

Marcail, one of the faces of School Strike for Climate, was often seen on the news promoting strikes and climate action. Having graduated from high school she is now working in Auckland, (due to COVID, her original plan to work at a climate consultancy firm has been scuttled.) Marcail is an avid supporter of the Green Party, bringing her climate focused attitude to everything that she works on. Her position on politics very much revolves around the climate, she is also a firm believer in fighting for social justice.

The Interviews What got you interested in Politics?

Everyone has a different story about what got them interested in politics. I myself, do not actually remember why I got entangled in this morass of egomaniacs and policy nerds. Probably

48

the need for my younger self to feel important, but the reason I stayed was the people. Everyone at Model UN, Young Labour, School Strike, you name it, has an interesting story to tell. I’ve spent a lot of my time in this world more interested in the people it attracts, and to a certain extent creates. Don’t get me wrong, I love the work that is done in these organisations, but there is a reason this article is focused on people. So without further ado, let’s ask my interviewees some questions, starting with the one above.

The government. I go to school, who runs that? The government.

By the time I was 11 or 12 I figured out that the government seemed to have a pretty big impact on my life therefore it was something I should be interested in. So ever since I was young I was interested in politics, it wasn’t until I was older I started actively following what different parties represented and stood for.

Dan: Well one of my parents works in education and the other works in health so they were very familiar with the trials and tribulations of different governments. They understood why it’s important to support the protection of people. That’s kinda the environment I grew up in. I guess I was able to take that experience and translate that into my own life. I saw why it was important to care about what happened at my school and that always lends itself to caring about the world. I’ll also add that no one is not interested in politics, it is not something that is unique to me, it’s how the world is. Politics comes from a Greek root that means stuff that happens in a city or society. Everyone cares about something, whether it’s Socialism or skateboards.

Dan: No, If i’ve become a politician something has gone terribly wrong and I need to be reset.

I understand why some people want to be politicians, and I’m not gonna say that all of them are bad, some of them are in there for the right reasons. A. I think there are better people than me to be the decision makers and B. I think I can help people in other ways.

Marcail: I think it was just that

I saw things happening in the world around me and I wanted to know the best way to fix them and I’d always been interested in politics and who ran the world.

So I got involved through that and ended up doing things like Strike (SS4C) which meant I was very closely involved with doing things that worked with politicians.

William: Politics has been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in how things work so from a young age I would ask a lot of questions. My mother is a nurse, who does she work for?

But you don’t want to be a Politician?

Do you think youth issues are being addressed properly? If not, why?

I’m going to be honest, I was pretty sure I knew which direction everyone would go in when answering this question. It’s fairly clear, painfully so for youth, that we are being left out of a lot of decision making. Dan, being the contrarian that he is, decided to question the premise of the question, but apart from that, the most striking aspect is the consensus, across the ideological spectrum (of those who I interviewed,) that youth are being screwed.

Dan: I believe that youth issues are something that actually don’t exist. There is genuinely nothing that is just a youth issue.

Pierson: Then issues that disproportionately affect youth.

Dan: Well even then I don’t just want a youth voice for climate change and mental health’s sake

HISTORY & POLITICS because all of those issues affect adults as well. The most obvious “youth issue’’ would be education, only teens are in highschool but even that affects adults because the quality of their education determines how they’ll contribute to the economy and culture. It’s something that benefits adults as well. Along with that, youth should have a say in everything that happens, even things that traditionally wouldn’t be considered youth issues. Things like foreign policy and the economy, things many think youth wouldn’t be interested in.

Ella: I don’t think that there is enough representation. I don’t think youth are taken seriously enough, a lot of people think “Oh y’know, they’ll grow up.” Young people are so vocal, and a lot of momentum is building but we need to lower the voting age to achieve representation.

William: I think many issues important to young people aren’t being addressed properly, whether that be housing, education, the environment, or job creation. Part of the problem is that younger voices aren’t being heard around the table. Myself, Luke Whijon, and other young candidates are hoping to change that. The other issue is that young people often don’t have the knowledge or understanding of how our government works to make an informed decision or vote. A lot of young people view politics as simply ‘too hard’ and ‘not relevant’ to them.

How do you think the fact that most of those involved in youth politics are teens affects the environment that is created? What’s your opinion of the immaturity in the area?

I’m not going to lie, I’ve heard some horror stories about peo-

ple’s time involved with politics, especially young people. I think there is the potential for healthy environments to be created but the nature of some of the people involved makes that difficult.

Dan: In more progressive caus-

es I’d argue that the maturity is actually often a lot higher among young people. There’s actually more of a desire to focus on tangible progressive issues to make life better for people because they come in with a fresh perspective often more cynical, being less absorbed into the world of adult politics they can more easily see what’s wrong with it.

Ella: A lot of the immaturity that I’ve seen has been down to individuals, it’s not necessarily the age that matters.

Marcail: I think youth politics a

lot of the time ends up not being a very positive environment because people are so eager to clash and argue with each other.

They’re generally pretty opinionated but not necessarily super educated. There is also a lot of pride involved, and so that ends up causing some drama and a lot of tension.

We’d like to think that issues such as sexual assault, harrasment, and sexism are something that defines an older generation, but it is clear from incidents in Young Labour and Act that this isnt the case. How can we foster a healthier and friendlier environment for people coming into the political sphere?

I was going to write quite a bit about sexual assault in the piece, but when I got to thinking about

what I would write, I realised I was not the right person to talk about this issue. Don’t get me wrong, it is an issue in youth politics, but I dont have the life experience to talk about it. I have never had to deal with this in my day to day life. Only in abstract terms. What I do have though, is Marcail and Ella, who I believe can answer this question far better than I can.

Marcail: In terms of the sexu-

al assault cases, and the issues that have been uncovered over the years in youth politics, personally I think that its absolutely terrible that youth dont have a safe space that they can go to if theyre involved in politics. They constantly have to be worried about that kind of thing. It really sucks. It’s really hard because it happened in three of the four main youth wings since that last election. Which is shocking and unacceptable. However, it’s not the fault of the party necessarily.

How the party deals with the case is obviously an issue and the way each of these parties deals with this stuff needs to be addressed.

Ella: To foster a healthier environment I really do think that there needs to be a culture of zero tolerance for predatory behaviour, and everyone needs to be looking out for one another and in an environment where they can be unafraid to call bad behaviour out. This comes for all new people to the group and old-timers. I also think that there should be fewer drinking-focussed events (especially if they are one of the main ways of socialising). There also needs to be strong responses and clear communication from parties that behaviour like this is not okay and there are consequences for such actions.

What role do you think organisations like UN Youth and youth political wings play in fostering youth engagement?

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HISTORY & POLITICS

Marcail: I think they play a real-

ly big part in getting youth more engaged in politics and more interested. The issue is that the only people that start doing politics are people that are already interested and want to be involved and engaged. They don’t really address the large proportion of youth who don’t know enough to care or don’t think that they should care.

Ella: I think it’s just a place

where a lot of people come together, who already have a particular interest in being snobby.

Pierson: Ambition? Yeah I actually came to the same concussion as you.

Ella: It’s a place to bounce ideas off of eachother.

Dan: What gets people there is often ambition, but also a desire to learn more, that’s definitely what got me there.

Model UN

WMUN = Wellington

Okay so I’m going to write a lot about Model UN. I find these events hard to define. They’re part civics education, part screaming match, party elitist dinner party, part booze up, and entirely ridiculous. You never know quite what to expect. Firstly, before we dive into this world there is a lexicon that one must grasp.

Model United Nations

When I first went to an event I found myself barely grasping what people were saying. Yet another roadblock that blocks people from entering politics is the jargon. With that out of the way i’ll try to explain how these events work. Firstly, applications get sent out. Nobody puts much work into these and they’re mostly just a formality. If you are someone who is a regular delegate you have to put in even less effort, as it is likely your name

WHSMSC = Wellington

WMParl = Wellington Model Westminster Parliament NZMUN = New Zealand Model UN

High Schools’ Model Security Council MParl = New Zealand Model Parliament AYD = Aotearoa Youth Declaration

will be recognised and you will be let in with less scrutiny. Following this you will be assigned a country. There are a few countries that are coveted. If say, you are China, you will likely be a lot more influential than if you are Tajikistan. This is somewhat contested as someone who is charismatic enough can still accomplish a lot as a minor nation. Regardless, once everyone has received their country they will be sent out a resolution. A resolution looks something like the example below. A bit boring right? Model UN nerds seem to think so, which is why it’s our job to mess it up as much as possible. There are varying degrees of virtue espoused by those attending these events. From the responsible kids who genuinely care about amending the document in a way that is beneficial to all nations. To the schemers, out to get as much as they can for their nation, and most notably, the shock jockeys, whose goals seem only to create as much controversy as possible.

In order to amend the resolution, each potential change must be voted on by those in your com-

50

HISTORY & POLITICS mitee, time will be given to debate each change before a vote is held. These dabates have been known to be quite heated, even occasionally ending in tears.

UN Youth is a juggernaut in the political education sphere, how has the organisation affected you?

Dan: UN Youth is just satire.

It’s just a hilarious bunch of nonsense where young people imitate a governing body, and through that they learn. Comedy is a good vehicle for learning often and UN Youth is no exception to that.

Ella: It is where I made most of my friends. I see a lot of value in how I was inspired and how it challenged me. There are always issues in organisations and we should always strive to make them better, but there are a lot of good things that UN Youth has done, it has provided an avenue for a lot of kids who are interested in a very niche global issues area of debating in general. It allows people to exercise their interest surrounded by other people interested in the area. It’s brought me a lot of joy.

Marcail: I really enjoyed Model

UN, I think that it gave me the opportunity to meet a lot of really amazing people who were also involved in politics. It definitely was a positive experience first, as I continued with the organisation it became a bit more toxic as you got involved in those spaces where there were a lot of fake people involved. A lot of people do things just to create drama, just because they wanted to create tension between people.

There were a lot of people that thought that just because they believed something to do with politics they couldn’t be friends with you if you believed something different. I think that’s a very harmful attitude to come into something with.

How would you recommend that others get involved in politics?

Marcail: Talk to your friends about politics, look at organisations you can join. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a youth political wing, the electoral commission does some really cool non-partisan stuff which is amazing. It’s focused around getting people enrolled to vote. Join an organisation like UN Youth. You could join your local youth political wing if you wanted to. You could get involved with someone’s campaign if you wanted to do that. There are so many different ways to get involved if you just google youth politics. It comes up with a bunch of stuff.

Or just looking at what’s going on in parliament at the moment and talking with your friends about it. We need to foster that kind of care for politics and government because it really does affect everyone’s lives.

written about some of us that ran school strike which was pretty insane. We also got called out on national television by Fili Fepulea’i who is incredible, I absolutely adore her, but she did call us out on national television for being an inherently racist organisation which we then worked to fix. That was pretty crazy to be in such a well publicised conflict.

William: My friends and I after NZMUN 2018 were walking down the Welly waterfront singing the NZ anthem when we came across a couple of young people we thought were other delegates from the event, so we went up to them and started loudly singing the anthem expecting them to join in... Turns out they were German tourists... I think we must’ve given them a fright!

Dan: Many wacky things hap-

pen, a lot of inspiring things happen. A lot of them are political so i can’t actually comment on them but- Ella what do you reckon.

William: The first thing anyone Ella: I’ve just been inspired. I’ve

wanting to get involved in politics should do is look at every party. Read what they are about, and make a decision for yourself on which party, if any, best represents your views. Go to their websites, have a look at the political page on Stuff, send your local MP an email, follow an MP or Candidate’s Facebook or Instagram page. Political parties are actively trying to engage with young people and I guarantee you will be happy to talk if you’d like to get involved or find out more, regardless of if it’s Labour, National, Green, Act, or other!

If you are considering getting involved in NZ politics it’s important to remember that its not all fun and games, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have fun. I’ll finish off with a few stories & thoughts from the people I interviewed.

Marcail: While doing strike last

year one of the craziest things to happen was, obviously there were a lot of TV interviews and there were some hate articles

had the realisation that a lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about and it’s easy to be freaked out by the people that go to these kinds of events because there are some very confident people. These people tend to give others an impression of these organisations that isn’t actually reflective of the whole population that goes to them. You’re all there to learn. Some people think they know better than others but they don’t.

Dan: Broadly speaking the strangest and coolest thing that happens is all the times something young people organise or do is able to not only impress, not only compete with, but actively surpass the abilities of adults and what they can do.

By Pierson Palmer

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HISTORY & POLITICS

Chile;

Time For A Change?

O

ctober 14th, 2019, was the beginning of Chile becoming an intense, uptight travel destination, or as the locals call it, home. The fight against poverty has been an issue in Chile for a very long time now. Many local protests took place throughout this vast country in response to the rise of the subway transportation fare. This provoked the physical attacks on the people of Chile. As the riots grew, damage, vandalism, and chaos through the streets of Chile grew as well, escalating into a bloodbath. The Chilean Military, “with the gov-

52

ernment’s consent” was ordered to shoot at the riot goers, causing mass shootings. These innocent civilians subjugated by the wealthy were shut down for standing up for their rights.

These innocent civilians subjugated by the wealthy were shut down for standing up for their rights.

Over 120 supermarkets have

been looted and burned to a crisp. All this damage to the burnt supermarkets, permanently closed subway stations and overall damage to these delicate cities and towns has compelled Chile to spend $5.5 billion on a recovery plan. Over 3.7 million people came together on Chilean soil with a toll of 31 dead.

The Guardian reported on Chile with the headlines “Piñera asks for troops back on Chile’s streets despite reports of ‘grave’ abuses” and the New York Times titled their report “Chile Woke Up”.

The price of the subway fare only

HISTORY & POLITICS went up 4 percent, but with the price of water and living essentials, this act from the government was the last straw. The rich people run the country their way to benefit no one but themselves.

The working-class earn $500 USD a month and have to pay for drinking water. The country has been robbed over the last 40 years.

The country has been robbed over the last 40 years.

After interviewing Siena, (a Chilean friend) I found out the majority of protestors were younger people. “The elders looked at it as a shame to Chile,” Siena said.

She mostly saw young students around the age of 18-30, who attended university. “The younger people understand that they have to make the change happen so they are pushing it.” Siena made it clear that age affected people’s opinions. Most think it’s embarrassing and is destroying the beautiful cities of Chile. Siena was in Chile after the leading protests she said the energy was like “seeing somebody after a funeral, it has the undertone of sadness, defeat, shame, and strength…

Nobody is walking around at night, walls are all graffitied, little fires all around, you can still feel the tear gas. Subtle sadness.”

Nobody is walking around at night, walls are all graffitied, little fires all around, you can still feel the tear gas. Subtle sadness.”

When asking Siena when she thinks it will end she stated: “I don’t know a time frame but when the government steps up and puts money in the common people not just the rich… Education is a big thing in Chile, I feel like if you’re poor you’re gonna be poor your whole life because the education system is so bad”.

The poor have no upward mobility, it’s a class-based system where you can’t advance based on merit.

This is a major issue in Chile. The education system is not great, meaning many civilians are struggling to survive. The poor have no upward mobility, it’s a class-based system where you can’t advance based on merit. It’s based on who you know and who your family is. 18 million people live in Chile yet 1 million own all the wealth. The underclass has to use what resources they have to educate young people. Education facilities aren’t strong in the educational aspect and the environment that these kids, teens, students, adults have to work in

are less than adequate.

One thing Siena noticed was the shame around it. “The majority of the people look at the protests as shame, a disappointment, something that shouldn’t happen to their great country.

But the young people look at it as strength within the people to raise. Whether it’s a revolution or not I think it an amazing movement and it needs to happen and I don’t think most people see it like that in Chile, they see it as a disgrace”.

I have faith in the country of Chile, that they as a collective sort out their differences. I think it’s magnificent that young people are standing up and finally after hundreds of years are making Chile a fair place for all. Chile is not like New Zealand, it’s a completely different story and environment. I think it’s important for us all to be aware of the issues, not just in Chile but around the world. Our generation is so strong and open-minded that when young people around the world are fighting to live and getting killed for it we need to stand up with them, spread awareness and keep going until we feel our goal is achieved.

By Regis Perez 53

MUSIC

Music For Your Mood TOP SONGS FROM THE FLANNEL ALBUM REVIEWS 1. Oliver Tree - 1993 2. Oliver Tree - Hurt 3. Oliver Tree - Cash Machine 4. Yonezu Kenshi - Flamingo 5. Yonezu Kenshi - Paprika 6. Yonezu Kenshi - Décolleté 7. The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers 8. The Beths - Out of Sight 9. The Beths - Don’t Go Away 10. Harry Styles - Cherry 11. Harry Styles - Canyon Moon 12. Harry Styles - Fine Line

DRIVING WITH WES ANDERSON 1. Nirvana - Serve The Servants 2. Current Joys - Kids 3. Briston Maroney - Freaking Out On The Interstate 4. Nasty Cherry - Live Forever 5. Flora Cash - You’re Somebody Else 6. BOY - Little Numbers 7. The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition 8. The Chills - Doledrums 9. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Under The Bridge 10. Aldous Harding - Designer 11. Slaughter Beach, Dog - Acolyte 12. Belle and Sebastian - The Boy With The Arab Strap

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CRYING WITH KURT COBAIN 1. The Breeders - Glorious 2. Cage The Elephant - Aberdeen 3. Joji - Sanctuary 4. Post Malone - Feeling Whitney 5. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Porcelain 6. Microphones - I Want To Be Cold 7. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - The Hunter 8. The Vaselines - No Hope 9. Billie Eilish - My Future 10. Pixies - Velouria 11. Benjamin Ferron - Dreamcatcher 12. Beat Happening - Tiger Trap 13. Hole - Softer, Softest

OUT-CRY WITH ROSA PARKS 1. Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2 2. Frank Ocean - Be Yourself 3. Otherside of America - Meek Mill 4. The (DIXIE) Chicks - March March 5. PINK - Dear Mr. President 6. Kirk Franklin, The Family - Revolution 6. This is America - Childish Gambino 7. Tupac - Keep Ya Head Up 7. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Get Up Stand Up 8. Stevie Wonder - Living For The City 9. Tracy Chapman - Talkin’ Bout a Revolution 10. Creedence Clearwater Revival - Fortunate Son 11. Brittany Howard - 13th Century Metal 12. The Smiths - Meat is Murder

MUSIC

on Spotify

BOOGIE WITH BETTY WHITE 1. ABBA - Dancing Queen 2. Don Gibson - Oh, Lonesome Me 3. Janelle Monáe ft Erykah Badu Q.U.E.E.N 4. Leon Bridges - Twistin’ & Groovin’ 5. The Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie 6. Leo Sayer - You Make Me Feel Like Dancing 7. Vampire Weekend - Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa 8. The Beatles - I’m Happy Just To Dance With You 9. The (DIXIE) Chicks - Long Time Gone 10. Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay 11. The B-52’s - Love Shack 12. No Doubt - Just A Girl

Illustrations by Autumnalwood, Aubii and Rewire.

EXPLORING WITH AMELIA EARHART

CHILLING WITH TOM HANKS 1. Marlin’s Dreaming - Cheeky Kids 2. The Velvet Underground - Candy Says 3. Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (2004 Remastered) 4. A$AP Rocky - Sundress 5. Bill Evans & Jim Hall - Skating In Central Park 6. Raveena - Honey 7. Lime Cordiale - Wanna Go Home 8. Dijon - Skin 9. Childish Gambino - Redbone 10. D’Angelo - One Mo’ Gin 11. Miles Davis - Bye Bye Blackbird 12. Billy Joel - Get It Right The First Time

1. HYUKOH - Settled Down 2. Lush - Sweetness And Light 3. Wilco - Kamera 4. Phoebe Bridgers - Kyoto 5. Talking Heads - Cities 6. Laurence Vanay - Catalepsie 7. Foo Fighters - Stranger Things Have Happened 8. Modest Mouse - Heart Cooks Brain 9.Parquet Courts, Bun B - Captive Of The Sun 10. Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out 11. Troye Sivan - Rager Teenager!

12. Silver Jews - The Wild Kindness

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SCHOOL

P R I VAT E TO PUBLIC a former private school kid explains his move

I

n Year 6, many students have a choice: public or private. For some the choice is easy: private school. Their parents can afford it, and the amazing facilities provided make it a no-brainer. It can also be a great environment for kids that are struggling academically, as they ensure that no kid is left behind. However, there are many issues with private schools that may not be immediately apparent.

T

here is no doubt that private schools have their advantages.

Private schools consistently outperforms the national average in all NCEA metrics. 95% of students pass Level 3 versus 85% nationwide. However, the absence of poverty could be a factor in these better stats. It is true that private schools do provide much more support for struggling students than public schools. This environment of educational support can be a lifesaver for some students. Great pass rates and world class facilities are very attractive for families who can afford the tuition, but these two things do not equal a good highschool experience.

Wellinton High School

M

any students at Wellington High are refugees of these private institutions. I myself, after 6 years at a private school, decided that the benefits offered there weren’t worth it, here’s why.

The school I attended, Scots College, is made for a certain type of boy. The ‘all-round man’, (a concept repeated almost daily at the school,) is committed to his academics, does a sport, and plays an instrument. These are great

56

goals, but they end up leaving many boys feeling as though they aren’t good enough. Students are expected to take part in house activities, despite reluctance from some students. I’m not sporty, nor am I particularly interested in the arts. My interests lie in politics and social sciences, but there were few outlets through which I could explore them. Model UN, an activity I had discovered outside of school, showed me a far healthier culture. One that celebrated differences and allowed people to be themselves.

All rights reserved, Lincoln High School, 2020

institutions stuck in the past can accommodate. That’s fine. I know a lot of people who loved their time in private school and will go on to do great things (Steven Adams, Victor Vito and John Clarke all attended the school)—while I found myself grinding against a system that didn’t work for me, they thrived.

I

f you are considering moving to private school, or have a younger sibling who is considering it, I’d ask that you keep these things in mind. It could be that you’ll thrive, but there is no way of predicting where you will end up.

Keep in mind the great things an open and accepting culture does for education, but that these schools may not be the best place if you don’t fit the mould.

The issues with Scots are found in private schools around the country—I have it on good authority that my school was far from the worst.

G

oing back to Scots after Model UN, I realised that the culture was not healthy. I hadn’t seen it earlier because I’d never really seen anything else, but after spending time outside of the private school bubble, it was painstakingly obvious. That isn’t to say there aren’t great people at Scots, but it’s culture of casual homophobia, locker room talk, and the tearing down of others for being different make it a toxic environment, to say the least. The behavior isn’t too overt, but the use of gay as an insult, for example, is quite common.

I

decided to leave for two reasons: one being the dated culture, and the other being a lack of accommodation for my extracurriculars. The process started with a conversation with my dean. He was understanding, though not apologetic, but admitted the school has a problem. He was impartial when he gave me my options: for my final year, I could either stay, drop some of my out-of-school hobbies, and try to change the school from the inside, or I could go to Wellington High, with its culture far more suited to my interests and personality. I chose the latter.

I

’ll sum it up like this: private school wasn’t designed for me, just as it isn’t designed for a lot of kids. We live in a society that is far more diverse than

Scots College

S

cots is getting better. A queerstraight alliance was introduced last year and many are trying to change the school’s toxic culture. It was tempting to stay for a final year to lead the charge to make Scots a better place. Instead, I chose to prioritise myself. I now have much more time to focus on what makes me happy, in a community that is far more accepting of who I am. The decision about what school to attend is a personal one. Scots didn’t seem to have room for me, and it took me years to realise it. When considering moving schools, or even entering the workplace, make sure there are safeguards there to help support you, don’t force yourself into a situation you aren’t comfortable with. If you do, however, end up in an institution where you do not feel accepted, remember that you have no obligation to stay. Always prioritise your wellbeing.

By Pierson Palmer

SCHOOL

POST-WHS SURVIVAL GUIDE

Whether you’re off to uni, entering the workforce, or embarking on whatever an O.E. looks like in this covid stricken world, leaving high school is a big transition. Adulting can be overwhelming, stressful, and downright confusing (not to mention expensive and a little overrated). Lucky for you, the following pages are full of tips and tricks to ensure that you not only survive, but thrive, post-WHS.

BY SIENNA & SIERRA WILLIAMSON

How to Eat on A Budget First and most importantly, food. You’re probably going to be in charge of providing yourself with 3 square meals a day from now on, and there’s only so many times you can run back to your parents for dinner.

But how can you avoid surviving off 2-minute noodles when it seems like that’s all you can afford? Here are 5 tips and tricks for eating healthy on a budget.

Cook at Home…and Make Leftovers No matter how tempting it is to simply grab some Macca’s while you’re out, cooking from home is cheaper and healthier. And if you give it a little time and effort, it can be pretty fun too! Try out a couple of different recipes (like the ones on the next page), and once you get into the habit of making yourself healthy dinners, it’s a simple matter of popping the leftovers into a tupperware container for a healthy lunch tomorrow too.

Plan Ahead Before you go shopping to make all those delicious home-made meals, take a few minutes to think about the week ahead and plan out what food you’ll actually need to buy. Putting a little thought on the front end helps you save money and reduce your food wastage by making sure you only end up buying food you’re actually gonna eat (yay saving money and the environment, win-win!).

Once you’ve got a solid idea of what the week ahead looks like it’s time to…

1. Make a List As tedious as lists are, making a grocery list is a pretty good way of making sure you stay on track with your plan once you’re at the store. Plus, it’ll make your grocery shop more efficient, saving you time. Of course, once you make a list you have to stick to it. Resist the urge to buy items that you don’t need, even if they’re on sale. Tip: Never go shopping with a grumbling belly. ‘You’re not you when you’re hungry’ and you’ll just end up buying a bunch of food you don’t need.

2. Buy in Bulk Stock up on staples that you frequently use, like pasta, flour, and cereal. Not only will you ensure that you’ll always have healthy food options on hand, but you’ll save yourself time and money. However, it’s best to only buy non-perishable items in bulk, and it’s probably a good idea to make sure it’s something you actually like to eat, you know, before you buy heaps of it. (Storytime, I once had a friend who bought 37kg of Easter egg chocolate. Why? We’ll never know. He was lactose intolerant).

3. Buy Generic Brands If you don’t have the space to store bulk foods in your dorm or flat, try buying generic or supermarket brands of the same products. Generic versions of staple goods are usually the same quality as the bigger brands, or cheap enough that it doesn’t matter. Tip: Try avoiding eye-level shelves to find cheaper versions of the same products.

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RECIPES SCHOOL

A R R A B I ATA PA STA

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SCHOOL

E A SY B L U E B E R RY MUFFINS 59

VOTING

SCHOOL COVID has continued to postpone events, and its latest target seems to be the 2020 election. After new outbreaks of COVID in Auckland, the 2020 election has been pushed back a month to October 17th. While this might be good news for public safety (and National), a later date doesn’t mean that you should postpone enrolling to vote or reading up on election issues. Voting is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to make your voice heard, so follow these quick and easy steps to ensure you have your say this election.

Check if you are eligible → It is your duty to enroll to vote if you are 18 or older, and a NZ citizen or permanent resident that has lived in Aotearoa continuously for a year or more. If you are a little on the young side, you can still fill out an enrolment form to be automatically registered on your 18th birthday.

Get enrolled → At vote.nz, you can enroll online in under 5 minutes! Just fill out the enrolment form with basic information, like your name, address, phone number, and email. You’ll also need a proper form of ID, like a passport or a driver’s license.

Get informed →

There’s no point voting if you don’t know what you’re voting for! Make sure to check political parties’ websites for a list of their policies, and think about how they might impact you and your wider community. Also, read up on the terms of the cannabis and assisted dying referendums at referendums.govt.nz, to ensure that you have all the details before you cast your ballot.

The build-up to graduating high-school is a pretty confusing time. While freedom and independence sound pretty good after 13 years of the opposite, it’s pretty emotional ticking off your ‘lasts’ and realizing that you’re rapidly becoming an adult. One of the best ways to deal with an emotional rollercoaster is to identify which emotions you’re feeling, so check out this wheel of feelings for seven common emotions you’ll go through as you graduate high school.

Excited: Now that you’re no longer confined to WHS, you might feel like your whole life is about to begin. And to some extent you’re right, there’s a whole world of opportunities ready for you to explore and you’re free to do whatever you choose!

Regrets: Whether it’s a class you wished you’d taken or some people you would have liked to have gotten to know better, it’s perfectly normal to have some regrets as you reflect on your high school experience. And although you can’t go back, reflecting on your past regrets might make for some future life lessons.

Relief: You’ve finally made it! No more last-minute essays or SCI-PAD exercises,

and you’ve sat through double Stats for the last time. Take some time to enjoy the weight of the world being off your shoulders and relax. After all, you’ve earned it!

Pride: Graduating high school is a big achievement. It’s the culmination

hard work, and you should feel proud of making it the finW ofish13line.yearsGiveof yourself a pat on the back and take some time to celebrate!

H Leaving high school is O F F E E L S Anxious: a big change, and it’s normal to feel E anxious and overwhelmed about what the future holds. After all, it’s Exhausted: Finishing high new world out there and E school is a huge task, and 2020 athatwhole can be terrifying, especially if made it any easier. It’s you don’t have a clue about what L hasn’t perfectly normal to feel a lityou want to do after graduation.

Nostalgia: Don’t even lie, as much as you might want high school to be over, there’s definitely some parts you’ll miss, and deep inside you probably wish you could do it all over again. As you fondly recall your last 5 years, it’s perfectly normal to get a little in your feels.

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Healthy Headspace

tle numb to all the festivities.

Take some time to recharge now that you’re all done.

But remember you probably felt this way back when you started high school and you turned out just fine.

All of these feelings are completely normal, and likely shared by the rest of your graduating class. However, if they start to spiral out of control, consider talking to a mental health professional or a free mental health helpline.

SCHOOL

4 Way s t o S p r u c e Up Your Space Whether you’re moving into a dorm or moving out, having a pleasant environment to come back to at the end of the day can be a big mental health boost. And while you may have gotten the essential furniture sorted, sometimes it’s really the small touches that can make a space feel special. Here are 4 easy ways to spruce up your space.

3. Comfy Desk Chair:

1. Make Your Bed: *Sigh* I know, I know everyone harps on about this one. But making your bed is the easiest way to make your entire bedroom look better. Plus, accomplishing a small thing in the morning like making your bed can have a huge impact on your mood for the rest of the day and help to lower your stress. If you’re struggling for motivation, try switching out your bedspreads for something bright and colorful.

2. Get a Full-Length Mirror:

This is an important one, especially if you’re off to uni and going to be spending a lot of time studying at a desk.

Having a comfy and ergonomic desk chair helps you keep good posture while working, preventing any muscle strain or tension. It’s a small thing that can make a world of difference to your work or study space, so it’s worth investing in something comfortable. If there’s one thing to splurge for on this list, it’s definitely this one.

There’s just something about a full-length mirror that makes a space feel a little more glamorous. Not only do they help to brighten up a room by reflecting light, they also make a space feel larger and are the perfect statement piece. Plus, they’ll help make sure that your outfit looks just as good in real life as it did in your head. Check out your local op-shop for an inexpensive find; most have plenty of used mirrors for under $10.

4. Plants: Incorporating greenery into your space goes a long way towards creating a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. There’s just something about seeing beautiful plants growing around you that makes a space feel peaceful and refreshing. In fact, indoor plants are proven to help boost your productivity and reduce stress. And even if you’re not much of a green thumb, there’s plenty of plants out there that don’t require much to survive. Check out our Top 3 Indoor Plants for more!

ZZ PlanT

You’ve probably seen this plant popping up all over your Instagram feed, and for good reason. ZZ plants are practically indestructible; they rarely need to be watered and thrive in most lightning and potting conditions, all without losing their bright green color or waxy shine. However, they are poisonous, so they’re not the best plant if you have pets around. Overall, this is a plant for the plant killers who just want an easy, hand-offs way to add some greenery to their space.

Prayer PlanT These plants are absolutely beautiful to look at, with large, brightly colored leaves that fold up at night, as if in prayer.

Prayer plants are a little more high maintenance, requiring regular watering, especially in the spring and summer, and bright but not direct sunlight. However, it’s totally worth it, because with a little effort you’ll be well rewarded with a stunning plant. If you care more about how your plant looks and don’t mind a little commitment, this is the plant for you.

Haworthia Zebra

Top 3 Indoor Plants Succulents are known for being easy to take care of, and the Haworthia Zebra is no exception. They only need to be watered occasionally, can be placed in direct sunlight, and they’re pet friendly. Plus, their spiky striped leaves make for a perfect statement plant, and they can be planted in super cute pots or terrariums. If you’re looking for a low maintenance plant that’ll easily match your Pinterest aesthetic, then this is the plant for you.

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QUIZ

Choose a Hairstyle A. Ombre Beach Waves B. Buzzcuts, cornrows C. Leonardo Style: Short round the side, long and straight on the top.

D. The tragic bleach blonde permed mullet accident. Voluptuous and long natural: Caveman style.

What are you like at Parties

You got busted for dealing drugs.

What drugs are you selling?

A. Meth B. Cocaine C. Mdma D. Heroin

A. You won’t be seen without your phone in hand.

Taking snapshots and videos of the night. Ooh! This one works perfectly for my instagram feed!

B. You’re a hot mess. You find yourself stumbling home with your pants around your ankles and wearing some random dudes puke stained hoodie at 4 in the Morning.

C. You tend to just stick with your friends as DJ of the night. You own the speakers. You keep the party alive with high Energy.

Whats your favourite Movie?

A. Avengers B. Avatar C. Titanic D. E. T.

D. You’re high out of your mind sitting with the other stoners in the soft cushioned seating area, probably listening to Jarrad Wright.

Best way to spend friday A. Binge watching your favourite netflix series in bed with your best friend.

A. Tesla

B. Dancing all night at the red square Clug

b. Ford GT

C. Grabbing a bite to eat with your close friends at your go to vibey underground restraunt in Newtown.

C. BMW M Coupe

D. Disco Rave.

What your favourite fashion trend A. The Althelisure look: Sweatpants, sneakers and hoodies.

B. Animal prints, crop tops.

C. Neon Colour, leg warmers.

D. Platform heels, bell bottoms.

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Pick your car

D. Delorean DMC 12. (Back to the future time machine.)

QUIZ

What sounds like the best way to spend your weekend?

A. Keep socially distant in a group of 10 or under.

B. Soak up the rays at oriental bay with half of Wellington.

C. Spending all your weekly allowance at the local spaceys Parlour arcade.

D. Dancing with people you just met at a music festival to Psychedelic rock.

Whats your favourite slang?

A. Whats the tea? Flex, Bae, Cancelled, thats a bop, Deadass.

B. Dope.

Whats your favourite song?

A. Sicko mode - by travis scott.

B. Wanna be - By Spice girls.

C. Billie Jean - By Michael Jackson.

D. Bohemian Rhapsody - By Queen.

What video game are you playing?

A. Minecraft B. Super Mario C. Pac Man D. Space Invader

C. Sweet as bro.

D. Can you dig it? Right on mann.

Lucky for you, you’re right at home in the modern age. You wouldn’t be caught dead a 2 Generation old IPhone, and I wont even get you started on Andriods. Pastimes you enjoy are: Making fun of boomers, Dismantling the racist government system and scrolling on tiktok endlessly.

You’re an 80s kid at heart, you belong in the decade where Michael Jackson first showed off the moonwalk, MTV reached its Heyday, you love to pull out the funkiest moves at parties.

The 1990s were your dream decade, you belong in the days of beanie babies, plaid clothes, Friends, The fresh prince of Belair, Tamogotchis and of course the spice girls.

The 1970s were the decade of cher, bell bottoms, pink floyd.

You’re probably quite a hippy, free spirited and preachy about peace and love. Psychedelic inspired music and promotion of these mind opening drugs began to make it’s way into main stream media.

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SPORTS

Skatestyle Evolution & history

In the mid-1950s, skateboarding emerged in the heart of California’s surfing community along the coast of Santa Monica.

When they weren’t smoking pot or tearing up waves, surfers would practice their tricks on land using skateboards. As word of skateboarding spread through the neighbourhood, the surfing community quickly transitioned from surfing gnarly waves to carving hot concrete.

During this time, through to the 1990’s, skateboarding was predominantly based around “freestyle” form, imitating the loose style of surfing and putting emphasis on the creative aspects of both flatground tricks and technical skill. Influenced by competitive skaters such as Rodney Mullen and Mark Gonzales, skateboarding was primarily based upon freestyle competition, using open flatground spaces to perform stunts such as hippie jumps, pivots and 360 spins; all tricks revolving around the the capabilities of clay roller skate wheels and flat tail decks.

This, however, all changed with Frank Nasworthy’s invention of the polyurethane wheel in 1972, and with it’s development came the emergence of modern skateboarding.

With it’s new technical capabilities, skateboarding transformed from flatground flip tricks and skating the bowl to half pipe, vert and street style skating. Rodney Mullen’s adaption of the newly invented ollie, a basic trick involving popping the tail and dragging the foot across the board to the nose, revolutionized skateboarding. Through the ability to lift the board off the ground, it was possible not only to transition into more advanced tricks such as the kickflip, heelflip, 360 flip, and the “impossible, but to clear gaps, stairs and grind rails.

Further on in the early 1980’s, Mark Gonzales, or “Gonz”, who was previously a predominantly freestyle skater, transitioned into the newly created street style of skateboarding. Before becoming a sponsor for large skate labels such as Adidas, Supreme, and Krooked, at 15 years old, Gonz was most known for his cover feature in the 1984 edition of Thrasher Magazine performing his now famous “Eggplant” trick. Two years later in 1986, Gonz ollied what at the time was the largest gap in skateboarding history, a spot in Embarcadero, San Francisco which is now widely recognized in the skateboarding community as the “Gonz Gap”. Later on that year, along with professional skateboarder Natas Kaupas, Gonz was the first person to skate a handrail, establishing his place as one of the largest contributors to the development of street style skateboarding.

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Images © Craig Finemann

SPORTS

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QUIZ

Indie Band Name Quiz 1. First letter of your first name: A-Psychedelic B-Happy C-The D-Yellow E-Sad F-Sweater G-Olive H-Blue I-Horny J-Rage K-The L-Peach M-Murky N-Ugly O-Amber P-Rainbow Q-Honey R-Trusting S-Mustard T-Violet U-Flaming V-The W-Lime X-Velvet W-Salmon Z-Nervous

Written by Larissa Nelson Designed by Dani Jimenez Buitrago and Larissa Nelson 66

2. Birthday month:

“Destripado” by marthax is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

January-Death February-Wolf March-Party April-Porn May-Cult June-Tokyo July-Surf August-Arcade September-Glitter October-Milk November-Lobster December-Cheese

“So Much Music” by Martin Cathrae is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

3. (Optional) Star sign: Aries(March 21 – April 20)-Queen Taurus(April 21 – May 20)-Bitch Gemini(May 21 – June 21)-Beetle Cancer(June 22 – July 22)-King Leo(July 23 – August 22)-Panda Virgo(August 23 – September 21)-Snake Libra(September 22 – October 22)-Hoe Scorpio(October 23 – November 22)-Princess Sagittarius(November 23 – December 21)-Pilot Capricorn(December 22 – January 20)-Prince Aquarius(January 21 – February 19)-Astronaut Pisces(February 20 – March 20)-Jaguar

SPORTS

Drugs and Sport The rise of Doping in the Sports World Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) have been used since the creation of sport. Substance abuse to gain an advantage goes all the way back to ancient Rome where chariot riders would use a herbal mixture that they thought would give them strength. Allegedly the ancient olympic games were plagued with doping, obviously not as technologically advanced as it is now, but even then these strategies were still considered doping. The first athlete to test positive for the use of a PED at a regulated event was Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete. He lost his bronze medal in the 1968 summer olympics for alcohol use. 31 years later, on the 10th of November 1999, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was founded by Dick Pound, a former Candian Swimming champion.

Actual drug testing of athletes began at the 1966 European Athletics Championships. In 1968, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced drug testing at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

A s WADA tests for seven

types of doping: - Androgens (anabolic steroids) - Blood doping - Peptide hormones - Stimulants - Diuretics - Narcotics - Cannabinoids

you can imagine doping has advanced considerably from drinking herbal mixtures. Now an athlete can take PEDs in any way possible.

From gene editing to something as simple as a pill, athletes will do whatever it takes to win. The most common PED used among athletes is stanozolol. Stanozolol is a synthetic steroid that is derived from testosterone and has anabolic and androgenic properties.

It could be found in any pharmacy in the US from 1962 to 2010. It is now classified as a schedule 3 controlled substance.

The most famous case of PED use is Lance Armstrong. He won the Tour de France seven times (the most in history), he was the youngest cycling world champion in history at 22 years old, he’s the second american to win three Tour de France titles (he did them all in a row 1999, 2000, and 2001) and he made a total of $218 million over his career. Lance Armstrong achieved all of this while using PEDs. In 2013 he finally admitted to the use of PEDs throughout his career. When asked what he

used during his career he said yes to taking all of these drugs: EPO, Testosterone, Cortisone, Human growth hormone, Illegal blood transfusions and other blood doping.

The sport which has the largest case of doping in sport history also has the highest number of positive tests. Cycling, There are 173 teams registered with the UCI with 8-16 riders and if we assume that a minimum of 3 riders make a living wage, this takes the number of professional cyclists to 1519, so with a positive test rate of 3.6% the amount of cyclists caught for doping is 54. Those are only the ones that get caught. Cycling has the highest positive rate out of any officiated sport.. Second to cycling, weightlifting has a 3.0% positive test rate and boxing has a positive rate of 2.9%.. The former heavyweight champion of the world Vitali Klitschko revealed in his autobiography that he took steroids in 1996 and was kicked off the ukranian boxing team before the Atlanta olympics. Next on the list is triathlon with the positive test results sitting at 2.7%.

In the triathlon there is a lot of Erythropoietin (EPO) use. EPO is primarily digested and it increases the amount of red blood cells produced. Using this substance means that there will be more oxygen going around the body, that means you can work harder for longer and recover much faster. A

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SPORTS

Sports with the greatest numbers of anti-doping rule violations in 2015 sport associated with doping a lot is baseball. The MLB (Major League Baseball) went through a ‘steroid era’ which is said to have lasted 20 years from the 80’s to the early 2000’s. Nowadays the positive test results are at 2.5%, but in the ‘steroid era’ absolutely everyone in the league was using some kind of doping.

PED use isn’t just in professional sport either, in an anonymous survey that was sent to thousands of amateur athletes, 57% of them admitted to using PEDs at least once.

This shows that this isn’t only a problem at the top. For some of these athletes they feel like they have no other choice, sport is their only way out of the situation they are in. So for those athletes when sport is the only out why would they not turn to PED use. Especially when they see something like this. In the US 10 to 30% of high school and college athletes use PEDs. This is a huge number, considering that they are 16-19 years old. This shows that the PED problem isn’t only at the highest level of competition.

A recurring situation in drug testing athletes is that not all of them are testing positive for PEDs. There has been an argument that there should be differences between the testing for PEDs and recreational

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use, especially if the recreational drug is legal/decriminalized in the athletes country/state. In 2014 52% of professional american football players admitted to using opiates at least once in their career and from 2007 to 2014 28% of college athletes said they smoked cannabis, and I’m sure many more have. Cannabinoids are used more than stimulants and narcotics in professional competition and in real life. According to the United Nations 3.8% of the world’s population have used cannabis at least once, that’s 296,400,000 people.

The fact that it is now legal in some countries/states means that the WADA testing procedure needs to be adjusted to these laws.

In 2014 52% of professional american football players admitted to using opiates at least once in their career and from 2007 to 2014 Doping seems like a massive issue for those involved with sport but not everyone thinks the issue runs so deep. It reaches into all levels of sport. Doping isn’t an obvious thing to casual fans and they only hear about doping when a major athlete tests positive. The Lance Armstrong case brought doping to the public eye for a little while.

If every positive test was made public as soon as they happened there would be a greater awareness for doping in sports. There has been reported cases in the UFC when a high profile athlete tests positive they are told to not say anything to there 100% proof they have committed a doping violation. The most recent case of this is Nate Diaz. During November he tested positive for an androgen receptor modulator ligandrol. He later went on twitter saying USADA suggests he stays quiet about the positive test. In the same tweet he said “Until UFC, USADA or whoever is f*****g with me fixes it, I won’t be competing”.

This can also be used as an example for organizations protecting big stars. This isn’t surprising because a lot of sports organizations are a business, because this is the case why would any of these businesses drop their biggest money makers? For example if Messi and Ronaldo test positive for PEDs the entire sport of football would be destroyed, it would lose all of the credibility it had. Although it wouldn’t be surprising to see that FIFA was protecting their biggest stars amongst the other corruption problems they have.

Sport has become such a money making affair, from the 1970s onwards sport entered the billion dollar business. In 2017 it was estimated that the global sport market made around $91 billion USD in revenue. Sport has become less about doing it for enjoyment and loyalty and more about how much money someone can make. Canelo Alvarez is the 4th highest paid athlete as of 12th june 2019. In 2018 he tested positive for PEDs and was suspended for six months. Canelo is now one of the highest paid

SPORTS athletes in 2019. Now, athletes of all levels are using PEDs to gain an advantage. Why would an upcoming athlete who is on the cusp of greatness not take PED?. Taking that pill or injection could be the difference between thousands and millions. It could also be the difference between greatness or nothing, some athletes are willing to take that risk. Coaches with athletes on the edge of professional competition will offer PEDs to the athlete and claim they are ‘vitamins and energy supplements’; because it’s not only the athletes that make massive amounts of money, it’s the coaches as well.

For a lot of the athletes, sport is the only way they have to succeed and if they know that most of their competitors could be using PEDs they feel like they have no choice but to use PEDs too.

the doping programmes are always ahead of the testing One problem WADA is having is that the doping programmes are always ahead of the testing. Only over the recent years have WADA been able to make improvements to testing programme and as numbers of violations begin to increase we can only wonder how far ahead of the curve doping is. WADA have discovered a way to detect long term steroid metabolites in the system of the athlete. This makes it harder for athletes to pass testing by simply discontinuing the use of PEDs. Athletes will use ‘masking substances’ to hide the real PED, these are called diuretics. Diuretics are used to increase the amount of water and salt in the body.

These are often used as a way to induce rapid weight loss and to

mask other PEDs in the body. All diuretics increase urine excretion.

Masking substances are an example of how athletes who are doping are always trying to get ahead of the testing. Although testing is getting better, so are the ways of cheating.

In the 1988 Olympic 100m finals, for the first time in history four of the eight competitors in the race broke the 10 second barrier. The race was won by a Canadian, Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson was the reigning fastest man on the planet, with a time of 9.79 seconds, breaking the world record. After the race he went on to say that no one would take the gold medal from him. In the next 55 hours he tested positive for anabolic steroids and was stripped of his medal. His rival Carl Lewis was handed the medal by default. However, Ben Johnson wasn’t the only who tested positive for PEDs, five of the other seven runners tested positive as well. The race was named the dirtiest race ever.

WADA tests several hundred thousand Olympic athletes every year, about one to two percent of them test positive for a prohibited substances. The athletes can be tested at random times, even years before the next event. One issue with this is that each test cost $30,000$40,000 per athlete. To test a premier league football team would cost around $870,000-$1,160,000.

The fact that WADA is government and Olympic funded means that in 2020 they are going to be finding it quite difficult to carry out tests on a lot of the athletes. In 2018 WADA got a budget increase to $32 million, using this money they would be able to test all of the premier league and just over

half of another league. However, that’s not a lot considering WADA regulates 93 sports. Another problem WADA has is that scientists are still learning about the body and how it works. For example anabolic steroids are the most common among athletes, they target the body’s androgen receptor and promote muscle growth. However there is a minimum of 500 unknown chemicals that could target androgen receptors and can be made in a basic chemistry lab.

Even when the testing catches up with doping it’s very expensive to go back and look at previous cases of high profile athletes. Occasionally some athletes will lose their medals but many more will get away with it because WADA simply doesn’t have the technology or the funding to be able to compete with doping.

It’s a hard truth to accept but some of our favorite athletes could be cheating It’s a hard truth to accept but some of our favorite athletes could be cheating and there is a chance we could never find out. Doping is always steps ahead of the testing and the athletes with the most funding will be able to use the most advanced methods and are less likely to get flagged for a doping violation. In most cases we will never know if the athletes we watch on an almost weekly basis are taking advantage of doping, which means that the integrity of sports can always be questioned.

It is upsetting that this is the case but it’s exciting to see the top athletes perform at the highest level with or without the assistance of PEDs.

By Leo Clarke 69

MUSIC

M U S I C REVIEWS:

Fine Line. By Harry Styles. What some might call the best album to have ever graced planet earth (besides all 5 One Direction albums). What I particularly love about Harry’s most recent album is his ability to be vulnerable with his audience through his lyrics.

The album opens with “Golden”, which is one of those songs that initially sounds all upbeat and chirpy, but actually has pretty sad lyrics. He writes about how he knows “you were way too bright for me”, which alludes to a feeling of inferiority to the person he’s writing about. The whole song feels quite self-indulgent- as if he is wallowing in his own feelings for too long.

The final song, “Fine Line”, is the most special to me (and hits especially different when crying at 1am lol). The opening lyrics of the song, “Put a price on emotion, I’m looking for something to buy”, are just- wow. No words. He so perfectly manages to explain the feeling of numbness in the most beautiful way. I wish I could just copy and paste every lyric from the song here because they’re all equally as meaningful and mystical and wonderful and worthy of appreciation.

The meaning that I take from this song is that no matter where you are in life, sad or happy, alone or surrounded by love, there will always be a fine line between being down and being alright.

If you haven’t already listened to this masterpiece, I urge you to. It will, in fact, change and vastly improve your life.

Review By Beanie Lee

Rating: 28/10

Jump Rope Gazers - The Beths

Review by Cerys Wiles

The Beths’ 2020 Album Jump Rope Gazers is a window into emotions that we all feel but don’t often share. The first two songs on Jump Rope Gazers, ‘I’m Not Getting Excited’ and ‘Dying to Believe’, that were released early as singles hinted at a faster lineup that would be similar to their debut album, Future Me Hates Me, and while it ended up being a slower album, it certainly did not disappoint.

Overall the album has the feel of a slow self aware lament. It has a lot of contrast with their previous work and takes a more raw approach, each song introducing a different sentiment that we weren’t sure how to describe before. Arguably, it is a sadder album with it’s lyrics and tone that give the feeling of coming home to an empty house after a mediocre night. It talks about feelings like always being slightly off the mark (Acrid), feeling abandoned (Don’t Go Away) and uncertainty (Just Shy of Sure). While these are all emotions that aren’t fun to experience, the recognition the The Beths new album gave to them indicates a sense of grown, self development and acceptance that these are things that we all experience and all struggle to talk about. They also managed to capture the essence of small-town New Zealand in their song Dont Go Away with the lyric; “you were scraping your elbows on the walls of this town”.

The lead singer, Liz Stokes, uses her voice to carry these emotions that are often unfelt in other music. At a first listen, the album is more upbeat and the duality of her voice lends itself to both a happy surface level tone as well as to a more despairing and longing sound. While Jump Rope Gazers is more mellow, they still managed to weave in the same intensity and feeling with driving notes both from the music and the melody.

Go check it out!!!

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Rating: 8/10

FASHION

WHS FASHION

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FASHION

YEAR NINE YEAR NINE YEAR NINE

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YEAR TEN YEAR TEN YEAR TEN

FASHION

YEAR ELEVEN YEAR ELEVEN YEAR ELEVEN

YEAR TWELVE YEAR TWELVE YEAR TWELVE 73

FASHION

YEAR THIRTEEN YEAR THIRTEEN YEAR THIRTEEN

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FASHION

How To Ethically Funk Up Your Wardrobe Your Quick Guide on Ethical Fashion by Emma Kane

Brands like Glassons, Forever 21 and Zara are notorious for being unethical giants in the fashion industry. All for the sake of fashion, Angora rabbits are tied up as people rip out their hair, children swim and drink toxic waste water that textile factories dump into nearby rivers, oceans and any other water source are polluted and filled with synthetic microfibers, and humans are being trafficked to work in factories that produce the clothing. The Fashion Industry is the second biggest polluter, after the oil industry. 10% of Human created carbon emissions is from this industry.

The Fashion Industry is also the second biggest user of water worldwide. For one cotton shirt it takes 2649.79 litres of water,That’s enough water for one person to drink at least eight cups per day for three-and-a-half years and for a single pair of jeans, 7570.824 litres of water are needed (or 8 cups of water per day for 10 years). Most of us are aware of their negative impacts on our environment and their human rights violations and yet do nothing. I saw people in the Climate Strikes wearing Nike shoes and holding Apple phones. For us, protesting is the easy part, living the lifestyle we advertise isn’t. There are so many better, more ethical alternatives than the life sucking fashion brands we all shop at. So here’s what you can do!

(PINTAEX BAGS AND ETHICAL SOCKS SELLING AT VELVET HEARTBEAT) Velvet Heartbeat is a local brand that creates gorgeous vegan bags and accessories. Having started in 2017, they are a newish brand that has in the short time period, been able to make a name for themselves and gain a reputation for being an ethical/sustainable branding fighting for a greener future. They value who produces their materials and how durable a bag needs to be. They make sure that they find thoughtfully produced materials that have minimal environmental impact. For them, fair and just wages are non-negotiable. A tip, Velvet Heartbeat, has on being an ethical consumer is that “it comes down to trying your best and questioning the impact of your choices - do I need that new pair of shoes? If I do, can I purchase a pair that have less impact on the environment, are made by people being paid a fair wage in a safe environment, will they last longer than a cheaper pair so I feel the price is worth it?”

(HAIR CLIPS BY KIANA FERNANDEZ)

(TUBE TOP BY RIAN PHIN)

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FASHION Alternatively, another way to get unique and cool clothing is thrifting. Thrifting is effective in keeping down waste and pollution, and an added bonus is that the money you spend on that t-shirt goes to charity. Some local shops to check out are Paperbag Princess, Spacesuit, Recycle Boutique and Thrift or your local second-hand store. Velvet Heartbeat says, “you can pick up a nice belt or a chain while you’re there if the strap of a bag looks rough, or use the belt to convert a small bag into a fanny pack by adding a few loops.” You can add life to anything with embroidery or paint.

Colourful and fun badges and pins also look great. Fray the heck out of the hems on your jeans or turn a shirt into a dress. Turn trinkets into earrings with the help of jump rings and earring hooks. Embellish your socks with fabric glue and pom poms, lace or any other wacky stuff you can get your hands on. Sparkle up hair clips, headbands, and hair ties with googly eyes, feathers, buttons and a little hot glue. Create your own rings, necklaces and bracelets or search the thrift stores for old jewelry. Best of all, customise an old denim jacket using paint and gel medium. If you don’t have any luck finding bits and pieces to upcycle your clothing in thrift stores, you can always go to the nearby Warehouse or craft stores. There are cheap stores filled with anything and everything around every corner or if you want some seriously funky stuff Iko Iko is filled with funky trinkets.

(PANTS, EARRINGS AND PHOTOS DONE BY SAVANA OGBURN)

Other brands to check out: Hej Hej: Hej Hej is a brand which sells easy-to-wear clothing that are made from premium fabrics that don’t try to kill off our planet. They believe that “fashion should be fun, not intimidating, pretentious or have a negative impact on the world.”

Jasmin Sparrow: This brand sells beautiful jewelry which are all ethically sourced or recycled. All the gemstones come from mines that practice ethical mining and cutting practices.

Kowtow: Founded in 2006, Kowtow is committed to creating positive change. They make sure to use ethical and sustainable fibres for their clothing and ethical manufacturing.

Yu Mei: desgining purposeful bags that carry anyting and everything and look great. their products are 100% traceable.

AS Colour: The brand is high quality yet simple. They are fully transparent about their sourcing, processes and supply chain.

Nisa: This underwear label aims to provide a safe space for those who are new to this country, helping them find their feet and become a part of the community safely. You can also ‘donate a pari’ through Nisa. this is where for only 15 dollars you can give a displaced woman in syria a pair of underwear.

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ARTS

FILM

WHY DO YOU MAKE FILMS? We’ve been making films for a decade, and love seeing the finished product and improving our skills. We also have made a fair bit of money on this filmmaking experience, which is also a nice incentive to keep making films.

WHY DID YOU ENTER ROXY 5, AND 48 HOURS? Mr.Cairns stopped Finn in the hallway in year9 and told him to enter the Roxy 5 film competition, and what Mr. Cairns says, you do. We loved the experience so much, we entered the next year. We had been interested in the 48 hours film competition for some years before signing up, as it is such a well known competition. Luckily, we had a great experience and ended up winning!

EnPassant Films SKY GOBBI

2020 BEST SCORE

“THE WORK OF AN ARTIST” A young photographer questions his identity as an artist. He loves taking photos, but is thinking of giving it up as he worries about not being good enough. The film depicts his internal struggle in deciding what to do.

WHY DO YOU MAKE FILMS? I make films because I have to. I need to tell these stories. They come to me as images, words, sounds, and concepts and films focus these into a visual median. It’s an art form.

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF ENTERING ROXY 5? The Roxy 5 film competition is amazing. It gives us an opportunity to make films and show them to a wide audience and supports us through the prizes and mentoring from industry leaders.

HOW WILL FILMMAKING AFFECT YOUR FUTURE? I hope that some day I will become a part of the film industry and get to make films for a living. I want to make original films that give me a chance to tell my creative vision.

Bus Stop Productions GRACE MEDLICOTT & FINN CULVER

2017 SUPREME WINNER

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF IT? We get so much out of filmmaking, chiefly the feeling of pride when you look at something you’ve put hundreds of hours into, all come together into a piece of art. We also get great contacts out of the competitions which we can use as we go forth into the film industry.

HOW WILL FILMMAKING AFFECT YOUR FUTURE? Finn - The industry is so uncertain, especially in today’s climate, so it’s quite hard to say where I will be in 10 or 20 years. However, every day I hear about new and exciting things happening in the New Zealand film industry.

All I know for certain is that I want to be a part of it, I can’t say if I will be successful or not, but I have to try.

Grace - I’m going to Otago next year to do a Bachelor of Commerce and Science, majoring in Management and Genetics. I hope to use my BCOm to go on to produce films in the New Zealand industry, with a focus on inclusion and increased diversity, particularly female directors and disabled actors. I know that going into this industry as a female will be difficult so if I did make it to become a successful producer I would want to help make the way easier for others who are disadvantaged.

To watch these teams films and all other winning films go to: http://www.roxy5.nz/previous-winners-and-films

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ARTS

THEATRE

Despite much disruption due to COVID 19 this year, most drama productions still managed to go ahead.

The play explore the relationship between a group of girls who go through a private school together. With a large cast onstage - with 16 actors in total - the many choral moments within the performance packed a punch.

Machinal A play by Sophie Treadwell

EVERY BRILLIANT THING 3rd - 4th June One half of the Year 13 Drama class started off the year by staging a production of the Duncan Macmillan one man show. The play examines mental health and the effects it can have on those you love. Under the direction of Mr. Roger Mantel they chose to split the single role between five actors.

This not only allowed for more students to be assessed it also made the character more ambiguous, and ultimately more relatable for the audience.

GIRLS LIKE THAT 23rd - 24th June The other half of the Year 13 drama class performed the Evan Placey’s female driven play.

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Monday 24th 6.30pm Tuesday 25th 4.30pm Wednesday 26th 4.30pm Thursday 27th 6.30pm

THE TEMPEST 28th - 31st July Under the direction of Zoe Crane & Emily Rosemergy the Shakespeare Society staged a lavish production of William Shakespeare’s play. Set in the 1930s.

The school Principle, Dominic Killalea had nothing but praise for the performance: “The Tempest was the finest Shakespeare Society production in a long time, possibly the best I’ve seen since I arrived at “Wellington High School at the end of 2005. I had neither read nor seen a version of this play but I loved the costumes, the sets and, of course, the acting itself, from Ian Blackburn’s turn as Prospero, to the inspired casting of 6 Ariels and the wonderful injections made by Claudia Armitage, Vita Jerram and Nova Moala-Knox, in particular, which kept the audience on their toes and laughing in the aisles. I also noted that the acted, drunken turns of this trio were disconcertingly, very believable!”

MACHINAL entry 24th -Free27th August For Tickets e-mail studentservices@whs.school.nz Originally written in 1928, the Year 12 Drama class brought to life the Sophie Treadwell expressionist, crime thriller. Again the leading role of a young woman, who obediantly follows the rituals that society expects of her, was split up amongst multiple performers. Allowing for each actor to draw out something different from character within each of their scenes. However there was still a strong sense of unity between them all, particularly when under the scrutting of a powerful supporting cast.

WHEELER’S LUCK 16th - 17th September Year 11 Drama brought a deliteful version of the kiwi comedy to the WHS stage. Full of quirky characters, great performances, and plenty of laughs too.

MEDIA

Tomorrow’s News The Media’s Problems, Positives and Possible Futures

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ournalism is in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. It’s common knowledge the media is on a collision course with failure. Yet common knowledge is not fact.

As reporters will tell you, the future of news might just be brighter than it seems.

“It’s really no secret that it’s in a lot of trouble.”

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hat’s Tom Hunt, a senior writer at Stuff. He’s been there for 10 years, and things have changed dramatically. “We occupied a 5 story building... and about five years ago we moved into this building and took that side of the building and this side and were packed, now we’re just down to this side of the building, and as you can see numbers have sunk hugely”.

The New Zealand Herald’s Simon Wilson agrees. “There is simply no

“The revenue is just not strong enough for us to keep going.” obvious viable economic structure for private companies to keep going in the media. The revenue is just not strong enough for us to keep going.”

But why has Journalism suddenly collapsed? Quite simply; ads.

Historically, newspapers printed at a loss, with the remainder being made up by advertisements, particularly classified ads. In fact, 70% of the newspaper industry’s revenue comes from advertising.

However, with the invention of the internet, advertisers turned to web giants such as Google and Facebook instead of local newspapers. A trickle turned into a torrent, and now Google and Facebook alone receive 50% of advertising revenue in New Zealand, and have received 99% of recent growth. And it’s hit newspapers hard, with advertising revenue for US papers dropping from $49 Billion in 2006 to $14 Billion in 2018 according to Pew Research Centre. That’s not money that can be easily replaced.

This has only been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Tom Hunt; “the only people advertising during the level four lockdown were government departments and they kept us afloat. There was no point in shops advertising because nobody could buy anything.”

However, loss of advertising revenue isn’t the only problem facing the industry. The transition from traditional media, like newspapers and TV, to a more onlinefocused world has also been an issue for companies. At Newshub, Zane Small says that “With everything on demand, people’s habits change, and that obviously weighs on 6pm news”. And it’s not just TV that’s struggling. The New Zealand Herald’s circulation has fallen from over 200,000 papers sold every day in 2006 to 100,000 exactly in September last year, and other publications have similar dire figures.

Social media has also been an issue. “It’s taken all the ads, and also it’s taking our articles and running wild, so people don’t actually need to go to Stuff or to the newspaper to read the sto-

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MEDIA ries.” That’s a massive problem, because you can’t advertise to someone if they’re not even on your website.

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owever, everything is not all doom and gloom. Companies have been experimenting with new funding models over the last few years. One of the most successful is the subscription model, where for a monthly fee you get access to extra content written solely for subscribers. The New Zealand Herald has been the most prominent user of this model, with over 70,000 subscribers to date.

Other companies like Stuff have turned to a donation system, with donors paying in a subscription-like style but with all content still being accessible for free.

Companies like The Spinoff have also had particular success with a similar donation model, with over 10,000 paying members.

And according to Zane Small, social media hasn’t been all bad.

“Social media can be really useful, and you can even build stories from it. For example, former National Party leader, Simon Bridges, made a Facebook post criticizing the extension of the lockdown, and it got so much negative feedback that you can’t ignore it. It’s a story in itself.” As he points out, however,

“You’ve also got to be careful not to use social media too much to base stories on.” “you’ve also got to be careful not to use social media too much to base stories on. For example, you can’t really base too many credible stories on the opinions that you see on social media. Instead, you’ve got to try and give opinions to people who have earned it, if you know what I mean. Professors, politicians, people who have the right to have an opinion.”

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ut there’s one organization that stands out from the rest.

As Rachel Thomas puts it, “we [Radio New Zealand] are the only New Zealand media company that has no revenue component. Even TVNZ has some”. This means that RNZ has none of the problems that companies like Newshub, Stuff, and The Herald have been facing in regards to loss of advertising revenue. That allows them to do things like go over budget purchasing equipment for people to work at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Government funding does come with its own dangers. There is a worry that if companies like Stuff and The Herald received government funding the government could “buy the news”, meaning that they would have control over what the news does and doesn’t say.

However, as Simon Wilson points out, “If you regard a pluralist media, a media with people with different points of view, where there’s a contest of ideas and a contest of analysis and a contest of reporting too… if you regard those things as valuable, then it may well be that the government is going to have to find ways to support them.”

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o what does the future look like for the fourth estate? To be quite honest, nobody knows.

However, some things are clear.

The transition from traditional mediums of journalism to online need to continue. Only 12% of people aged 18 to 29 read a print newspaper daily, and that figure is getting smaller by the day.

A way to effectively monetize online content is also needed. It is estimated that globally 90% of revenue for news organisations comes from newspapers, and with circulation growing smaller and smaller change is desperately

needed. The subscription model currently being implemented by the Herald could be the answer, or Stuff’s donation model, but both of these models are unproven long-term in a New Zealand market, although they seem to be seeing initial success.

Government funding can contribute too. New Zealand spends very little on media. Australia spends three times as much per person.

The UK six. New Zealand is the only country in the industrialized Commonwealth to not have general public service TV. In virtually every country these broadcasters are the most trusted source of news, miles ahead of the rest. If the Government were to fully fund TVNZ, and not rely on them to make a profit, then the potential for high quality journalism would increase no end.

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ut these are all just propositions. No-one really knows what will work and what won’t.

But what we do know is we can’t lose journalism. Rachel Thomas sums it up best: “It’s a tough job and it’s... a thankless industry a lot of the time but then, like, one of my friends said to me yesterday, just out of the blue ‘like, I really appreciate what you’re doing at the moment.’ And I was like, Oh my God, thank you and that’s someone who you’d only get that feedback [from] once in a blue moon. Sometimes it makes it all worth it..., I’ve always felt like it is a real privilege to have a platform like this where you can reach so many people. And you know, I got quite a few emails over lockdown from people that were just reading stories and going… thank you for writing about this because people were desperate and people really needed some answers and we kind of have the power to get them. And I think as long as journalists are still able to do that, then there’s still hope”

By Zachary Taylor

MEDIA

Facetune: An age where the bar for beauty cannot exist in real life Image: Middle Women

To be a human means to have insecurities. We all have moments of doubt, wondering whether we are smart enough, good-looking enough or talented enough. We even ask ourselves if we are worthy of love.

The influence of social media allows and encourages people to constantly compare themselves to millions of others. Research conducted by UCLA psychiatrists shows that overall, people feel worse about their appearance now than in the 1970s. I believe this global drop of confidence results from the constant use of editing apps like Facetune. People need to be aware of the negative effects it can have on mental health and the toxic messages it sends.

Recently an International Journal of Eating Disorders study found that 91% of teenagers use social media and post pictures of themselves. In addition, teens who Facetuned their photos were likely to have body-related concerns. It’s clear that there is a huge disconnect between social media and reality. Teenagers are used to their friends smoothing and reshaping their faces and bodies on social media but are shocked when one of them actually wants a nose job. They call out people who fat shame but use degrading words to describe themselves. When was the last time you looked in the mirror and thought something nice about yourself? 97% of women in a survey for Glamour magazine agreed that they had at least one ‘I hate my body’ thought a day, with the average being 13 self-deprecating thoughts.

A Year 13 WHS student wanted to

share her thoughts on the app and the impact she believes it has on self-image. She thinks that “Facetune is unnecessary and just ends up fueling deep-rooted insecurities in a lot of people. It sucks that most people feel pressure to have a ‘perfect’ and therefore impossible body, so much so that they have to edit their photos before they can post them”.

Do you ever feel ashamed of your body because it doesn’t look like those online? According to a survey undertaken by Esquire magazine, 54% of women would rather be hit by a truck than be fat. Crazy, right?

to think about how many men must feel pressured to have large muscles.

Throwaway comments such as ‘man up’, ‘grow a pair’ or ‘don’t be such a pussy’ are extremely harmful to a growing boy’s outlook on life. Remarks like these pressure boys into a very narrow box of what a man is ‘supposed’ to act like. In 2018, Box Office Mojo found that for the last three years, at least four out of the top ten highest-grossing films in the U.S. had been superhero films. In many Hollywood movies, especially superhero films, the ideal muscled male body is shown all the time. This sends a worrying message to men watching back home; in order for a man to be brave and heroic, he needs huge muscles. And if he doesn’t, is he even a man?

Facetune and Facetune 2 have been downloaded over 50 million times since the app was released seven years ago. The new version is free but requires a monthly fee of USD$5.99 in order to access all of When the issue of editing pictures the features. According to Lightricks and body misrepresentation in the - the creator of the apps - Facetune media is examined this deeply, it’s 2 had about half a million subscribvery easy to understand why peoers in mid-2018. 70% were female, ple have low self-esteem. Statistics showing the added pressure placed show that people are repeatedly told, on women to ascribe to a specific whether through word of mouth, body type and look. Of the 1,000 11 reading, watching movies, or even to 21-year-old girls who participated on their Instagram feed, that they in the 2016 Girl’s Attitudes Survey, are expected to have a ‘perfect’ body.

93% agreed that women are judged The toll of this pervasive message is more on their appearance, than on demonstrated in the 63% increase in their ability. It’s easy to underteenage depression between stand why women feel the 2013 and 2016, and the need to perfect and doubling of eating Statistics smooth every part disorders since show that peoof themselves be1960. ple are repeatedly fore they decide told, whether through So, how will to share a photo word of mouth, readonline. Have you we work ever been told ing,watching movies, or to change to stop dressthis? Will even on their Instagram ing like a slut? you become feed, that they are Stop being such a a ‘body-posiexpected to have a prude? Loosen up tive warrior’ in ‘perfect’ a little, smile more, order to combat stop being so bossy, be toxic behaviour on body. a good girl or any of the othsocial media? Will you er bullshit that women are told every build your friends up to boost their day? This is the type of world we live confidence so there is no need to in - contradicting and confusing. edit their photos before posting? Or will you quietly work on yourself, It’s not only women who feel presstop self-deprecation and start being sured to look and act a certain way. kinder to yourself? Take the first 90% of high school and intermediate step towards a positive body image boys exercise at least occasionally now - lives depend on it. with the specific goal of “bulking up”, as found in research by the UniverBy Beanie Lee sity of Minnesota. It makes me sad

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MEDIA

Love Island:

The Hate People Love to Give ‘I’ve got a text!’ A very familiar Love Island saying shouted through the TV as a new group of young adults present themselves as living the dream, showing off every detail of their lives to millions of viewers all across the world. Eight weeks with no contact with the outside world, no family, no books, no news, and the scariest of all; no social media.

Just you and your fellow islanders lounging around all day in the sun, a break from real life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a scaffolder or you sell pens for a living, as soon as you take one step into the villa you are now being judged for every single thing you do, the public will decide if they either love or hate you and you will face the repercussions of your decisions when you get out. Will choosing fame and a life in the spotlight be worth the consequences for them?

Though this show may seem all sunshine and rainbows, there is a whole other world going on outside the show on social media and the internet. The fame and fortune of Love Island and being a celebrity comes with its costs: Ollie Williams, a recent contestant of Love Island decided to leave the villa after only staying there for 3 days and when he got out he was “treated like a murderer” on social media, according to The BBC. The effect of social media on celebrities has been a big topic these last few months following previous Love Island presenter Caroline Flack’s suicide which was the third linked to Love Island, following Sophie Graddon and Mike Thalassitis. The internet seems very quick to judge people and being on reality TV, you are being filmed 24/7 so the audience can see every side of you and the editors and producers of the show can make you out to be whatever they want to keep the show interesting. Contestants are being used as pawns for the purposes of entertainment, because the more entertaining the show is, the more money ITV sees. If this is the formula, how much does an individual’s reputation and well-being really matter?

On social media, it is common that only one side of someone’s life is presented, and Caroline Flack’s case was no different. Her social media presence was showing all the happiest moments of her life, photos of her smiling, peacefully reading a book, swimming in the pool with her partner, with problematic personal issues lurking under the surface, just out of sight. On December 13th 2019, news broke that

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Caroline Flack had been arrested for assault by beating, the public immediately came after her dismissing everything they once loved about her and now only seeing her as an abuser. Russell Brand, wrote in defence of Caroline, “It was salacious, foaming, incessant poking, trolling judgment that chased her to the grave”. We are so quick to believe the things we read which can be grossly exaggerated or missing many details to have a more interesting story.

It’s happened to, Meghan Markle, Nigella Lawson, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Michelle Obama, and countless others, this was also the case with Caroline. Following her death, a petition on 38 Degrees calling for “Caroline’s Law”, would make it an offence for the media to “knowingly and relentlessly bully a person”, which now more than 850,000 people have signed.

As well as impacting on the contestant’s lives, reality shows including Love Island are known to have negative impacts on impressionable young people that are watching which is a large number of watchers. Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of 18-to-24-year-olds told YouGov, a British international internet-based market research and data analytics firm, that reality TV makes them worry about their body image. Survey evidence commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation’s poll also suggested that the same young people are already more vulnerable than older adults to body-related distress, with nearly a quarter of them (23 per cent) also saying they had had suicidal feelings because of concerns about their bodies. If the data is this clear, why are these shows allowed to continue? Is it all about money?

As viewers of the show and followers of celebrities on social media, we often forget that celebrities are human beings too and they are not immune from mental illnesses and still feel emotions like the rest of us. And as Caroline Flack said, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind.”

So next time you read something about a celebrity or you watch a reality TV show, consider yourself in their shoes before judging them, everybody makes mistakes and what you read and see can be manipulated to make people out to be villains, purely for money or a good story.

By Caitlin Matheson Picture: ITV

CRIME

Tunnel of Terror Wellington: the windy capital city of New Zealand. Home to many great places; Parliament, Te Papa, and The ANZAC War Memorial. But out of all these great and memorable buildings, there is nowhere as infamously known as the dreaded Mount Victoria Tunnel, 623 meters of pure terror. Now unlike many of the fine buildings just mentioned, the Mount Victoria Tunnel isn’t known for it’s amazing architecture but instead for the raging shunts who blast their horn while driving through.

For such an important topic I needed the views from some of the most important Wellingtonians: Jacinda Ardern, Andy Foster, Peter Jackson, and Jemaine Clement. However when I contacted them none were brave enough to chime in on such a heated topic. So I went to the next best thing, the student representative of WHS, Alex Quinn and Taika Waititi’s mum. When the Alex Quinn was asked about his views on honking he had this to say, “If you honk in The Mount Vic Tunnel you are a raging bunt and I hate you, I f*cking hate you. Genuinely I have never met a single person who has honked in The Mount Vic Tunnel that I like. Not anyone in my entire fucking life. If you honk In The Mount Vic Tunnel you deserve to be hit by a ducking tram.” However when I spoke with Taika Waititi’s mum on the matter, she had this to say, “If you walk through the tunnel, take it on the chin, you know what you’re getting into. Also with all the fumes honking is the smallest worry.” Clearly the topic of honking in the Mount Vic Tunnel is a divisive one.

Many wonder how such a dividing tradition started. Well, like all great things, honking in The Mount Victoria Tunnel was founded through murder. Being more specific it was the murder of a seventeen year old girl named Phyllis Symonds who was buried alive beneath the very tunnel that thousands drive through each day.

In December 1929, construction began on the Tunnel. There were many men who worked on the tunnel but none are as known as George Coats, lover and killer of Phyllis Symonds. Phyllis, age seventeen, and George, age twenty nine were lovers. When George Coats met Phyllis he courted her into a relationship, first taking her to the movies, they dated in secret for months.

Then as time went on and their relationship deepend a devastating event for George had occurred, Phyllis was pregnant. George couldn’t even support six children let alone a seventh, and when Phyllis’s family found out she was pregnant she was forced to leave home finding refuge in George’s small one room apartment.

The months preceding Phyllis moving, George grew controlling, not allowing Phyllis to step outside. And as the birth of the baby grew closer and closer it was said that George was becoming increasingly more enthusiastic about his jokes of getting rid of Phyllis to make things easier for himself. All this tension burst on one fateful day when George was fired. With his

livelihood stripped from him George invited Phyllis on a walk to the site of the Tunnel.

Forensic reports from the time, and a testimony from George clarify what happened next. George took Phyllis further into the Tunnels construction site to where there was a deep hole in the middle of it, meant to be filled in to help with support of the tunnel. With a shovel he had left out he told Phyllis to kneel down infront of the pit, he knocked her unconscious and proceeded to fill in the hole only for it to be covered up with concrete the next morning. Leading up to her death Phyllis felt that something may happen, so before that dreaded night Phyllis left a letter to Georges landlady who she had grown rather close with, the letter contained a warning on her possible ill fate. It was reported to the police that Phyllis was missing and potentially dead. A city wide search began, until the police finally got their lead after speaking with some of George’s old construction pals where they talked about the jokes George’s use to make, and how it was possible that he wasn’t joking. After weeks of searching they uncovered two lifeless bodies, Phyllis and the baby that could’ve been.

When the Tunnel eventually opened the death of Phyllis was still fresh in people’s minds, why wouldn’t it be? It was big news at the time and the denizens of Wellington couldn’t shake her memory from their mind as they drove through the tunnel. They needed to somehow make their respect to Phyllis known, but they couldn’t voice it, there was simply no way to in such a fast paced tunnel. So the people found a different way to pay their respect, a louder, tootier way. It’s hard to say for sure why people thought honking was a good way to show respect, all we know is they started to do it in memory for Phyllis. But do people still honk for that reason today? No they don’t, they do it cause they’re raging chunts.

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CRIME

Is someone you know a future serial killer?

BY ELIZA MARCHANT Did your sibling wet the bed into their teenage years? Or is your friend fascinated by lighting fires? If so, there is a chance, no matter how small, that they are a serial killer in the making. Concerned yet? Then I present to you, dear reader, some common factors shared by some of the world’s most infamous serial murderers and you tell me, is someone you know a serial killer?

ENURESIS

ted up to 8 murders). Born with a single bullet to the in 1870, he was raised in back of the head, aged 57. an orphanage where he wet the bed up until the age of 11 years old. He became obsessed with inflicting pain upon himself and others and began to abuse children, before escalating to murder. He was active between 1924 and 1932 until he sent a taunting letter to one of his victim’s parents that was traced back to him.

Fish was sentenced to death and was executed by electric chair in 1936, aged 65. The abuse of animals is another indicator that someone you know might be predisposed to violence in their future. 99% of serial killers have admitted to abusing animals before moving on to humans. It’s occasionally referred to as “practice” for their future human victims, seeing as the methods of cruelty they use on animals is sometimes similar to the methods they use when they “graduate” to human victims.

ANIMAL ABUSE

If your sibling wet the bed past the age of 5 years old, this could be an indicator of a future violent individual.

Over 57% of serial killers were found to be bed-wetters far longer than the average child. Some psychologists have suggested that maybe the reason they wet the bed for a long time is that they’ve got a simpler neural network and it simply takes that much longer Andrei Chikatilo was a seto develop bladder control. rial killer convicted of torturing and killing 52 women and children in Russia and Ukraine. Born in 1936, he consistently wet the bed for his whole childhood and his mother would beat him Hamilton “Albert” Fish was every time. He tended to an American serial killer stab his victims and was acconvicted of killing three tive between 1978 and 1990. children in the 1900s (he’s He was convicted of the suspected to have commit- 52 murders and sentenced to death. He was executed

BUTCHER OF ROSTOV

BROOKLYN VA M P I R E

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M I LWA U K E CANNIBAL

Born in 1960, Jeffrey Dahmer was an infamous American serial killer who was convicted of 17 murders of young men. As a young child, he watched his father bleach and preserve animal bones, resulting in him becoming “oddly thrilled” by anatomy.

CRIME

Jeffrey would take his bicycle out around the neighbourhood, and bring home roadkill to dissect to find out how the animal “fit together”. His first murder was committed after graduating high school in 1978, and he was active until 1991. He drugged and strangled his victims. Caught and convicted aged 32, he was sentenced to life in prison with no parole and was An unhealthy obsession with bludgeoned to death by a fire could also be an indicator. fellow inmate 2 years later. Instead of dealing with difficult emotions, if your friend sets fires to release their anger, then they could be a serial murderer in the making, as this is the theorised reason for arson. Arson is a big indicator of potential future violence because while fire is pretty, enjoying its destructive nature comes hand in hand with a lack of empathy.

FIRE SETTING

SON OF SAM

David Berkowitz was an American serial killer convicted of murdering 6 young men and women, most of whom were couples. He was born in 1953, and from a young age was infatuated with fire, so much so that his friends nicknamed him “Pyro”. He’s believed to have set around 1400 fires. Berkowitz was active between 1976 and 1977. He would shoot young couples in their cars. He claimed to be mentally incompetent to stand trial, accusing his neighbour’s dog Sam of telling him to commit the crimes, but this was disproved. David plead guilty to his crimes and was sentenced to life. He is still alive and in prison to this day.

B O S T O N OTTIS TOOLE Toole was an AmeriSTRANGLER Ottis can serial killer convicted Born in 1931, Albert DeSalvo was an American serial killer who was convicted of 13 murders of women. As a young teenager, he would put dogs and cats in small wooden crates and shoot them with a bow and arrow. He tended to strangle his victims and was active from 1962 to 1964 when he was arrested, charged and convicted. He was sentenced to life in prison with no parole. He escaped from prison later that same year but was caught and returned to jail where he was stabbed to death in his cell 6 years later. No one has been charged for his murder as of 2020.

of 6 murders of young men.

He was born in 1947 and admitted to being sexually aroused by fire from a young age. He met his partner in crime Henry Lee Lucas and between 1961 and 1983 they claimed to have committed up to 1008 murders together. Ottis died in 1996 of a type of liver failure, aged 49.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Now I am definitely not suggesting that anyone with these traits known as the Macdonald Triad will become violent offenders. I’d never do that. Statistically, you are unlikely to even meet a murderer. But it’s good to be aware, because who knows.

These traits could be warnings of future murderes, or then again, the future Ted Bundy’s of the world could just be hiding in plain sight.

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CRIME

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August 24th 2020

SLENDERMAN STABBING On May 31st 2014, two 12 year old girls called Anissa Weier and Morgan Geyser, stabbed their best friend, named Payton Leutner, in the forest of David’s park in Waukesha, Wisconsin in the United States.

Credit: Waukesha Police Department

Credit: Something Awful

What did they do?

comedy site. Slenderman is depicted as an unrealistically tall, and unnaturally thin humanoid (something that closely resembles a human without physically being one), who does not have a face and wears a black suit. Slenderman is an online horror story that was originally created through a photoshop contest where people were challenged to use photoshop to create paranormal images and make it look authentic. These photos were put on the internet and people began to make backstories for the creature naming it Slenderman and the story was meant to scare children as Slenderman was said to ‘prey’ on children. It is said that he can teleport, has tendrils that can come out of his back and does not talk, only watches.

The two perpetrators Morgan and Anissa used a kitchen knife, with a 13cm blade, taken from Morgan’s house during a sleepover the night before, to stab Payton 19 times in the arms, legs and body. They held her down and attacked her, one of the stabs to her torso was said to have been the width of a human hair from a main heart artery and would have been fatal.

Wait, what’s Slenderman?

Slenderman is a fictional supernatural character that was created by Eric Knudsen on June 10th, in 2009 as an internet meme on ‘Something Awful’ an online

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They stabbed Payton because they so strongly believed that Slenderman would kill their families or be upset at them if they didn’t kill for him. They wanted to become what they described as ‘proxies’ which they explained was to be a servant for Slenderman and that they would be able to live with Slender and other fictional horror story characters in a place called ‘Slender Mansion’ in Nicollet Park. They had read so many stories and ‘personal experiences’ from other people about Slender on a website called “creepy pasta wiki” that they considered this all to be true and became obsessed with the tale.

Credit: Something Awful

Then what?

Payton Leutner

Why would two 12 year olds do that?

After attacking Payton, Anissa and Morgan fled - telling Payton they were going to get her help but were actually leavin her in the forest to die from her injuries.

The two perpetrators began walking to get

CRIME

August 24th 2020 out of Wisconsin on their way to Nicollet park - where Slender allegedly lived.

They were spotted and picked up by police 6 hours after the attack near interstate 94. The girls carried a bag that contained the knife used to stab Payton. Morgan and Anissa were taken in for questioning and their parents were called to be told they had been found, but because of the laws of Wisconsin State, detectives on the case did not have their parents present for questioning.

Injured Payton dragged herself to the side of a road nearby and was found by a passing cyclist who called emergency services.

Payton recovered after seven days in hospital and returned to school in September that year.

Credit: Waukesha Police Department

rooms in David’s park as they explained it had drains for the blood to go out but the girls couldn’t organise who was going to do the stabbing in the moment and didn’t carry out this attack. They then agreed on the final plan to stab Payton in the forest under the disguise of playing ‘hide and seek’ together. Anissa and Morgans lawyers fought unsuccessfully to have them tried in juvenile court throughout the sentencing which, through the juvenile justice system, they would be released by age 18.

In 2017, Anissa and Morgan (now 15) were decided to be mentally fit to stand trial after spending three years in facilities. Anissa pled guilty to being a party in attempted homicide, but was found not guilty due to delusion. Anissa Weier was

Credit: Waukesha Police Department

What was the outcome of the case?

After questioning by authorities, Morgan was placed in a mental health facility and was diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia. Anissa was placed in a juvenile jail and diagnosed with delusion. Due to the laws of Wisconsin state, both girls were to be tried as adults for first-degree attempted homicide. This is as they admitted to have spent months planning to kill Payton and had two other plans set to kill Payton before carrying out their third.

The first plan was to tape Payton’s mouth closed at their sleepover the previous night and stab her in the neck before fleeing, but the girls said they were too tired to carry this out that night. The following day they had planned to stab Payton in the bath-

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sentenced to 25 years to life which was a sentence that included at least three years locked confinement and involuntary treatment in a state psychiatric institute, followed by communal supervision until she reached age 37. During her trial, Morgan was placed in Winnebago Mental Health Institute and was the youngest patient there. Morgan accepted a plea deal to plead guilty and not go to trial, but was found not guilty by the court due to mental illness/defect. Morgan Geyser was sentenced to the maximum of 40 years to life, the sentence involves at least three years locked confinement and involuntary treatment in a state psychiatric institute until complete resolution of symptoms or until age 57, whichever may occur first; followed by communal supervision and further treatment, reevaluations or reinstitution if needed.

But they’re only 12?

The question of whether Anissa and Morgan are actually ruthless killers or just kids that got caught up in a horror story was raised time and time again throughout the case, especially during sentencing. It will remain heavily debated who the fault of this incident should fall on; the girls?; their parents?; the internet?

At this young age, are they really responsible for their own actions? Or does it just go to show that the internet and social media set up these events to happen through the ease of accessibility to stories and pages where young children will not be able to seperate fantasy from reality in the digital world. It wasn’t the first internet meme to scare children and provoke violent acts out of terror.

I’m sure you all remember hearing about Momo? Internet memes spread like wildfire, will we learn that social media isn’t real life so cases like these don’t happen in the future? Time will tell, sleep well.

By Ellie Williment

Credit: Pirate-Cashoo’s illustration

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DISCOVER WHAT AWAITS YOU IN THE NEXT PHASE OF YOUR LIFE ARIES: March 21 - April 19

A surge of confidence and independence is about to find it’s way to you that will help you stay motivated through.

TAURUS: April 20 - May 20

CANCER: June 21 - July 22

There is a possibility of new opportunities coming your way that you need to look out for. They may affect your upcoming future and help you progress into becoming who you want to be.

Never lose faith in what comes next.

A fresh start and new beginnings that are filled with tiny moments of spontaneous energy awaits for the next year. Remember to use these moments to your advantage.

GEMINI: May 21 - June 20

LEO: July 23 - August 22

New relationships mean new connections and possibilities for making bonds that will make you feel a way you’ve never felt before. Whether they be good or bad, these new partnerships shouldn’t be overlooked due to fear of the outcome.

Clarity may be something you come across soon, you’ve let something eat away at you for a while now and it’s time to see the truth, things are not how you want them to be. It will be tiring, but making the effort to change things will be worth it.

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VIRGO: August 23 - September 22

Maintain a compassionate, nurturing, practical and down-to-earth attitude when dealing with others and your present circumstances. Focus on creating a calm and balanced life for yourself.

CAPRICORN: December 22 - January 19

LIRBA: September 23 - October 22

A person of nurture and practicality you are, these traits are going to benefit you soon so prepare yourself emotionally and mentally.

A familiar face or object will be coming back into your life so be open to new opportunities that come your way, but don’t let yourself fall into old habits.

SCORPIO: October 23 - November 21

Future planning and your hard work will finally begin to work in your favour. Your time to relax and reap the rewards is on the horizon.

SAGITTARIUS: November 22 December 21

Perhaps you’ve gone through a period of time that you’ve felt not in control and things have been a bit hectic but you are going to gain your power back.

AQUARIUS: January 20 - February 18

Things are quite chaotic right now, so it’s time to chill out and form new healthy habits you enjoy that also help you relax. Invest in

PISCES: February 19 - March 20

One of the hard things about being a pisces is that it’s hard to not take things to heart since you can be very caring. However it does come to a point where others can take advantage of you, so you should look for inner strength and stnad up for yourself because you are stronger than you think.

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P U Z Z L E S e a s y ( ish) g a m e s f o r tired brains

S U D O K U © 2011 Becher-Sundström

EASY

HARD

MAZE

WORDSEARCH

F I N I S H

S T A R T

Copyright © 2019 Discovery Education

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ALI HODGE JANIA BATES ANNA REEVE KYLE WEBB BOB NAYLOR MAEVE REID DOM KILLILEA MEGAN SOUTHWELL ERU HART MIKE KINGSTON FRITZ WOLLNER NICOLA DOW HENRY HOLLIS PRUE MCFARLANE JACKSON MARTIN TIM LI JANE POATA TONY CAIRNS

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SUDOKU SOLUTIONS

WHS TEACHERS

EASY

HARD

The Flannel

Bunch

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