n Dit
ISSUE 88.6 AUGUST 2020
ISSUE 88.8 SEPTEMBER 2020
Student Employment Grow, Support Impact, to find Connect work while you study.
auu.org.au/studentemployment
n Dit 2020
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ON DIT CONTENTS Editorial What’s On? State of the Union SRC President Left, Right, and Centre Vox Pop Club Spotlight Econ Dit Rural Student News International Student News Pop quiz ARTICLES What’s in a name? A hidden truth about multiculturalism Apps and oranges Clubs plus Tolerance in Thailand Tyranny, tranquillity, tulips Interesting rooms on campus Will someone please tell me how to refund these flights? The many faces of culture Did William Gibson invent cyberspace? Facing a real-life,but online experiement 25th of April
5 10 12 13 14 16 18 20 22 24 62 9 28 30 32 34 36 38 48 50 52 55 58
CREATIVE WRITING AND ARTWORK Artist spotlight: Alinda Tunc 40 Ophelia 61 EDITORS
Nick Birchall Felix Eldridge Taylor Fernandez Larisa Forgac SUBEDITORS
Will Broderick Ivan Bucalo Michael Genrich Oliver Hales Eric Pan Anika Pietek Michelle Roylance Rory Spiers Emily Woodcock DESIGN
Larisa Forgac COVER ART
Cosmopolitan Dream By Alinda Tunc Instagram: @alinda.tunc
We wish to acknowledge the Kaurna people as the traditional custodians of the Adelaide region on which the University of Adelaide is located. We also acknowledge Elders, living and past, and understand that the cultural and heritage beliefs that the Kaurna people hold are still important to the living members of their community today.
EDITORIAL
Hello from Felix, Taylor, Larisa, and Nick, Welcome back to another issue of On Dit! As we reach the middle of the semester, it is a stressful time for students since you are bombarded by the sheer amount of assignments and quizzes. We hope this issue can bring you some joy and entertainment — and hopefully not too much procrastination — during this time! Additionally, now that clubs have the opportunity to provide more in-person events, the sense of community has been further fostered on campus. One insightful initiative was Sustainability Week, where the Adelaide Sustainability Association collaborated with a number of clubs over Week 5 to promote the ways in which students could become more sustainable. There have also been more social events and online webinars which has been exciting to see! Multiculturalism is such a fantastic thing. Being able to sample and appreciate the cultures of many nations is a great privilege at this university. In Week 4, we celebrated Multicultural Week, where the Student Representative Council joined with numerous clubs to celebrate the diversity of cultures at the university, which was a great event! We are all very passionate about sharing multicultural stories, and you will find articles within this issue about cultural experiences and understanding. It’s also our pleasure to deliver issue 88.8. Given the multicultural theme of this edition it is fitting that this edition is issue 8. The number 8 is very special in Chinese culture in particular, and 888 is considered exceptionally lucky. This is because the letter 8 in Cantonese sounds like the word for prosperity. We hope that some of this luck will rub off on you during this difficult time. We hope you enjoy reading this issue and that Semester 2 is going well! On Dit
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STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL NOTICE OF 2020 ELECTION POLLING DATES: Monday 19th October 2020 to Friday 23rd October 2020 NOMINATIONS: Open at 9.00am on Monday 28th September 2020 Close strictly at 4.00pm on Friday 2nd October 2020 POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION: SRC PRESIDENT (1 position) – responsible for the overall co-ordination and leadership of the SRC and as chief spokesperson for the SRC. GENERAL SECRETARY (1 position) – responsible for calling meetings, taking minutes and general administrative roles. EDUCATION OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to highlight issues relating to student’s education and other academic concerns. WELFARE OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to promote the welfare of all students and to promote and strengthen support for students. WOMEN’S OFFICER (1 position) – Acts as an advocate for women’s interests, a co-ordinator of women’s action on campus. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as a woman. QUEER OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of queer students, to promote and strengthen the rights of queer students on campus and to combat discrimination at university and the wider community. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as queer. INTERNATIONAL STUDENT OFFICER (1 position) – Advocates on behalf of students enrolled as international students at the University of Adelaide, and to promote equality and opportunities for international students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be enrolled as an international student at the University of Adelaide. POSTGRADUATE OFFICER (Higher Degree by Research) (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of postgraduate students (Higher Degree of Research) of the University of Adelaide. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be enrolled in postgraduate (Higher Degree by Research) study at the University of Adelaide. POSTGRADUATE OFFICER (Coursework) (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of postgraduate students (Coursework) of the University of Adelaide. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be currently undertaking postgraduate (Coursework) study at the University of Adelaide. ETHNO-CULTURAL OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of students with a cultural or linguistically diverse background. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as having a linguistically or culturally diverse background. ATSI OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of students who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. ENVIRONMENT OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate for environmental sustainability within the university and broader community. SOCIAL JUSTICE OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to highlight issues relating to social justice. MATURE AGE OFFICER (1 position) - Acts to advocate on behalf of Mature Aged students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must be over the age of 25. DISABILITY OFFICER (1 position) – Acts on behalf of students with a disability on campus. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must identify as having a disability, mental illness or chronic illness. RURAL OFFICER (1 position) – Acts to advocate on behalf of rural and regional students. To be eligible to nominate for this position candidates must have must lived in a regional or remote area, or have moved from a regional remote area, within the last three (3) years and within six (6) months of commencing their studies at Adelaide University. GENERAL COUNCILLOR (8 positions) – Acts as an advocate for all students, assists office bearers in the fulfilment of their functions. TO NOMINATE AS A CANDIDATE: 1. Only students currently enrolled at the University of Adelaide who are financial members of the AUU may nominate. 2. Nomination forms must be either: a) completed and submitted online at www.auu.org.au/elections or, where a candidate is unable to submit online, b) obtained from AUU Reception during opening hours and once completed given in person to the Returning Officer or their nominated delegate or mailed to the returning officer via registered post. 3. A policy statement and photograph can be submitted, if desired, at the time of nomination at www.auu.org.au/elections .
Policy statements must not exceed 200 words including the candidate’s name and the position for which they are standing; any words over 200 will not be published. No policy statements or photographs will be accepted after close of nominations. If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer at returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au to arrange an alternative method of submission.
4. All SRC candidates will be required to attend an information session, to be held before the elections, outlining candidate election camp aign responsibilities. NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED QUERIES: Any questions concerning the Election should be directed to the Returning Officer via returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au.
ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY UNION NOTICE OF 2020 ELECTION POLLING DATES: Monday 19th October 2020 to Friday 23rd October 2020 NOMINATIONS: Open at 9.00am on Monday 28th September 2020 Close strictly at 4.00pm on Friday 2nd October 2020 POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION: GENERAL MEMBER OF THE AUU BOARD (5 positions; each elected for a term of two (2) years) - the AUU Board is the governing body of the AUU and is responsible for managing its affairs. The AUU provides funding for activities, events and services on campus, as well as providing support and assistance to affiliated student organisations. The Board meets monthly and has various sub-committees in which Board members are expected to participate. TO NOMINATE AS A CANDIDATE: 1. Only students currently enrolled at the University of Adelaide who are financial members of the AUU may nominate. Members must be over the age of 18 years, able to hold a liquor licence and be legally able to hold the position of a director of an incorporated association. 2. Nomination forms must be either: a) completed and submitted online at www.auu.org.au/elections or, where a candidate is unable to submit online, b) obtained from AUU Reception during opening hours and once completed given in person to the Returning Officer or their nominated delegate or mailed to the returning officer via registered post. 3. A policy statement and photograph can be submitted, if desired, at the time of nomination at www.auu.org.au/elections. • Policy statements must not exceed 200 words including the candidate’s name and the position for which they are standing; any words over 200 will not be published. • No policy statements or photographs will be accepted after close of nominations. • If you are unable to submit your policy statement or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer at returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au. to arrange an alternative method of submission. 4. All AUU Board candidates will be required to attend an information session, to be held before the elections, outlining the responsibilities of an AUU director and the structure of the organisation. NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED QUERIES: Any questions concerning the returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au.
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ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY UNION NOTICE OF 2020 STUDENT MEDIA DIRECTORS ELECTION POLLING DATES: Monday 12th October 2020 to Friday 16th October 2020
NOMINATIONS: Open at 9.00am on Monday 28th September 2020 Close strictly at 4.00pm on Friday 2nd October 2020
POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR ELECTION: ON DIT EDITOR (1 position, however up to four (4) students may nominate to be joint editors) - responsible for the publication of the AUU’s student magazine which is published during academic term-time. It is highly desirable that the successful candidate(s) have some knowledge of print media (if you are considering nominating, please find out what is involved). STUDENT RADIO DIRECTOR (1 position, however up to two (2) students may nominate to be joint directors) - responsible for coordinating programming, production and recruitment and management of content producers for Student Radio programs and podcasts which are hosted and broadcast online. Candidates will need to be organised, capable of working independently and confident managing a small team of students. It is highly desirable that the successful candidate(s) have knowledge of basic audio production and recording (if you are considering nominating, please find out what is involved).
TO NOMINATE AS A CANDIDATE: 1. Only students currently enrolled at the University of Adelaide who are financial members of the AUU may nominate. 2. Nomination forms must be either: a) completed and submitted online at www.auu.org.au/getinvolved/elections/studentmediaelections or, where a candidate is unable to submit online, b) obtained from AUU Reception during opening hours and once completed given in person to the Returning Officer or their nominated delegate or mailed to the returning officer via registered post. 3. A Mock Edition of On Dit for electioneering purposes (‘Mock Dit’) and photograph can be submitted, if desired, by email or through a file hosting service nominated by the Returning Officer. If you are unable to submit your Mock Dit or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer at returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au to arrange an alternative method of submission.
No Mock Dit or photographs will be accepted after close of nominations. If you are unable to submit your Mock Dit or photograph as above, please contact the Returning Officer to arrange an alternative method of submission.
4. All Student Media Director candidates will be required to attend an information session, to be held before the elections, outlining the responsibilities of a Student Media Director. NOMINATIONS RECEIVED AFTER THE CLOSE OF NOMINATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED QUERIES: Any questions concerning the Election should be directed to the Returning Officer via returningofficer@adelaide.edu.au. Published and authorised by the Returning Officer, September 2020.
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WHAT’S IN A NAME? WHY STUPOL FACTIONS NEED TO STICK WITH A NAME Words by Rory M Williams A famous quote from Shakespeare is: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This quote, apart from an inside joke about a rival theatre group called ‘The Rose’, noted that a name doesn’t really change the physical characteristics of an object, specifically that a rose called something else would still smell sweet. At the student political level, the line is probably more like: “That which we call a faction would be seen as just as putrid.” But putting literary pleasantries aside, Shakespeare had a valid point and his quote applies to student politics too. A student political ticket is like a brand. You can build up loyalty or mistrust of such a title depending on actions that are done throughout the year in its name. It is responsible for factions to keep a consistent name throughout their lifespan. In federal and state politics, parties don’t tend to change their names, so why is it acceptable for student political entities to do so? A brand name is attached to trust and unless voters can build up trust any change in name is merely damaging the credibility of that association. If a faction has existed for ten years, you will know what you get when you vote for them. Can you say the same for a faction that’s only existed for one? Groups that constantly change their name are clearly political opportunists.
Nowhere is this more evident that the faction that is currently (as of writing this article) called ‘Climate Action’. Now, I have my own reservations about this group’s political philosophy but that’s another story, the underlying problem I have with them is the complete blasé attitude they hold toward voters. In the last four years, it has run in student elections under three different names. That’s almost one name change a year. In the last three years they’ve run as Student Voice, Left Action and Climate Action. These people have little care for long term recognition and merely seek to cash in on the latest social trend and it shows. If you genuinely stand for something you should embrace it, you should own it, you shouldn’t try to hide behind a façade or to emotively milk a few votes out of a legitimate grassroots movement. By trying to do that not only do you debase yourself but you contaminate others. It is virtually guaranteed that the next name of this faction will replicate some popular political movement, perhaps one that has consumed global media attention for its legitimate grievances against brutality, discrimination and oppression, but one that is also vulnerable to misrepresentation by groups like them. I wonder what it will be this year?
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N O S ’ T A H W ? N O S ’ T A H W Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Quiz Night
WHEN: September 11th, 6pm WHERE:Rumours Café, Level 6 Union House
Adelaide University Anime Club AGM
WHEN: September 12th, 12:30pm WHERE: LG24, Lower Napier
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W ? N O S ’ T A H W ? N Adelaide University Law Students’ Society Special General Meeting WHEN: September 14th, 6:30pm9:30pm WHERE: Via Zoom
Adelaide University Debating Society
WHEN: September 17th, 6:00pm 7:30pm WHERE: Location TBA
Industry Insights Finale: Cocktail Night WHEN: September 23rd, 6:30pm8:30pm WHERE: Via Zoom
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STATE OF THE UNION Words by AUU President Stella Seung-Joo Woo
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all settling well into the semester! There have been multiple events throughout the semester so far. One such event was Multicultural Week, which was organised by the SRC from the 17th-21st of August as a collaboration of multiple cultural clubs with various events, and Sustainability Week from the 24th – 28th of August. Some of you may not know but the first ever time Sustainability Week happened was last year. I was also the clubs committee chair last year. Last year was very different to this year as Coronavirus was not around. Some of you first year students probably haven’t been able to see the full extent of how our events may occur! Hopefully that will change for next year. Although COVID-19 still exists, that didn’t stop our clubs from having great events this year. Many changes had occurred last year when I was the clubs committee chair such as the grant guideline reforms, and more focus was put towards Roseworthy clubs. But I’m sure our clubs committee chair Angela Qin (a fellow board director) is taking great care of the clubs this year! The University of Adelaide has many students from all over the world and Australia is a multicultural country. Multiculturalism is an important aspect
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as it dilutes the divisiveness of ignorance and encourages dialogue between different cultures as many cultures have different views on certain topics. These are why events such as Multicultural Week are so important. Not only is it fun, it also helps us educate ourselves. Also, it’s fun learning something new every day! If you do ever unfortunately come into a situation where you are being attacked with unlawful discrimination, you can always refer to counselling https://www. adelaide.edu.au/counselling/accesscounselling and report the incident to safer campus community https:// www.adelaide.edu.au/safer-campuscommunity/report-an-incident don’t be afraid to as everyone is here to help out. As I always say at the end, feel free to email me or message me on Kakao talk if you have any questions, need someone to talk to or have any feedback! Stella Seung-Joo Woo AUU President auupresident@auu.org.au Kakao Talk ID: snipshot
SRC PRESIDENT Words by SRC President Oscar Ong
This year has been challenging and full of uncertainty. COVID-19 has affected the world, not just with regard to health, but economically and socially as well. The pandemic led to global fear that manifested into hate as people searched for answers and possibly who to blame. In our university, there have been a couple of reported racial incidents. This is made worse by politicians using international students as a political tool, making disingenuous statements when the international student repatriation project news broke. In addition, the Black Lives Matter movement further elevated the need for more anti-racism discussions. The University of Adelaide is a place of great diversity. It has always been my aim to unite the diversity that defines us and make the university experience richer for all students. I am sure you have experienced the inaugural Multicultural Week organised by the SRC, or have seen the social media around it. With a theme of “This is Us”, the Understanding Multiculturalism Week aimed to educate Adelaide University students about racism. and open discussions regarding cultural differences, diverse personal stories and social issues within the multicultural community. The event pushed for humanisation of the multicultural community and understanding of the individuals that make such a unique collective. I’m glad to see the event was attended by lots of students, both face to face and online, and I assure you this is not the last Multicultural Week, and it will continue to be bigger every single year. I would like to take this chance to express
my deepest gratitude to the people involved that made this possible, especially SRC Ethnocultural Officer Jan Noya and the 30+ clubs that participated. I would like to take this chance to talk a bit about my background. I am a Malaysian Chinese international student from a multicultural country made up of several races including Malay, Chinese, Indian and Indigenous. Moving to a completely different country has been extremely difficult, especially coming from a Mandarin speaking background (English is my third language, YES I speak 5 languages), and I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be when some of our international students started university in a fully online mode. Please make sure you look after yourself and reach out if you need help. The SRC and university are always here to support you! Questions/suggestions about the SRC/ university or just want to have a coffee? You are always welcome to email me or send me a message through social media! 王梓劭劭Oscar Zi Shao Ong 阿大学生代表会主席 SRC President oscarzishao.ong@adelaide.edu.au Facebook/WeChat ID: oscarong1997
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LEFT RIGHT & CENTRE LEFT Daniel Neser Socialist Alternative
1. The proposal from the State Government has nothing to do with the rights of international students. Instead, it is all about re-establishing an exploitative model of for-profit international education in the middle of a pandemic. If the government actually cared about international students they’d be doing more to support the students here. Many international students are stranded in Australia due to the pandemic, even more susceptible to dodgy employers and the suffering of cramped living quarters. We demand fee-waivers for those who are here, and access to the same welfare given to domestic students. 2. Clearly the state borders have been an effective tool for stopping the spread of COVID-19. The biggest threat to their effectiveness right now is posed by people like Scott Morrison and other politicians whose principal concern is “reopening the economy and borders” sooner and more haphazardly. The fact that, nationally, powerful interests want to see even more people crammed into
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confined workplaces when most people want to do the right thing, is a disgrace. The restrictions are there and it’s not as if there’s a flood of people breaking the rules. Some people have had to cross the border for reasons including inadequate rural healthcare and services, even functioning servos. People need to be given full support to enable them to stay home during the pandemic. 3. No way. This fascist has been enabled by the horrors of systemic racism in Australia. The murderous wars in the Middle East, the right of the Australian Government to kill people in Afghanistan and the vicious scarcelyconcealed genocidal anti-Muslim rhetoric mainstreamed by politicians has set the stage for violence. Bringing back a regressive death penalty, a punishment with a history of racist deployment, won’t do anything. Instead, destroy this system which has declared Muslims the enemy, pull Australian troops out of everywhere, and free the refugees.
1. Do you agree with the State Government currently exploring options to return international students to Australia? Do you believe this poses a risk to South Australians? 2. Recently, several individuals sought to illegally cross the VIC/SA border. Should the state government be looking at imposing even harsher fines and jail terms for people actively breaching COVIDSAFE protocol? 3. The Christchurch massacre perpetrator was recently sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Would you support the death penalty being reintroduced in Australia, specially reserved for the most abhorrent crimes?
CENTRE
Leah SchamSchurin Adelaide University Labor Club
1. In the current COVID-19 climate, there will always be risks when people travel. However, South Australia has demonstrated its ability to effectively deal with the pandemic, both in terms of following restrictions when they were in place and responding to active cases. I do think that international students should be allowed to return to Australia on two conditions. The first is that the State Government conducts comprehensive planning and considers all variables when establishing a program/strategy that allows this process to occur. This also means considering the financial welfare of the international students. The second is that universities are equipped with the services necessary to assist international students when they arrive in South Australia, particularly in regards to facilitating a safe and inclusive campus culture. 2. I struggle to understand why people think it is a good idea to illegally cross borders at this point in time. I do think
we need a more coordinated border response between the states, both in regards to preventing unnecessary travel and facilitating urgent travel (work, health etc.). I also think there needs to be a strengthening of border control, even with Victoria’s decline in COVID-19 cases. 3. I would not support a death penalty in Australia. I want to first state out that the Christchurch massacre was an egregious act, committed by an egregious criminal. There are a plethora of reasons why I oppose capital punishment, not only in Australia but broadly speaking. Specifically, it is undeniable that this system would be discriminatory, regardless of the mechanism in place to be “neutral�. Further, it seldom deters crime, there is no guarantee that those sentenced are 100% guilty, and, as said by Amnesty International, the death penalty is a symptom of a culture of violence, not a solution.
RIGHT The Adelaide University Liberal Club chose not to submit an answer for this issue.
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vox pop Stella International Development 1. Sustainability week
1. Sustainability Stupol debate
2. Catch up on assessments
2. Performing in musicals!
3. Yes I love spring, except for the hay fever
3. Absolutely! Can’t get better weather
4. Ali Amin
4. Ali Amin
5. Awful, I hate it!
5. Been alright, not terrible.
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Matt Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE)
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
What is the best campus event you’ve attended in Semester 2? Any plans over the Mid-Semester break? Are you happy to be heading into Spring? Who should be the next Vice-Chancellor? How have you found “Blended” learning this Semester?
Alice Law and Criminology 1. Probably the Law School quiz night 2. Not really, probably going to get out of Adelaide and go travelling regional SA 3. Yes, I really love the warmer weather and being outdoors 4. Someone who aims to create an inclusive environment and make sure voices are heard 5. I’ve found it okay. I still prefer learning in person. The content’s easier to understand.
Ahmed Computer Science 1. National Day of Action 2. Continue being involved in protests as they emerge 3. Yes of course! 4. The position of Vice-Chancellor should be abolished. There is no reason for such a parasitic position at our university. 5. The impact of staff not being adequately compensated for transitioning has been obviously felt.
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CLUB SPOTLIGHT 18
Cambodian Club
Amnesty Club
Taochakkreytap (Chak) Lee
Billy Fay
1. Why did you join the club? I joined this club with a strong desire to promote Cambodian culture and tradition to a wider audience. At the same time, it gives me the opportunity to meet new people and friends.
1. Why did you join the club? Towards the end of my first year, I wanted to be more active and involved with the university. When I was invited to Amnesty AGM, it was a perfect opportunity for me to meet people who were also passionate about advocating for human rights and working against contemporary social injustice. Joining Amnesty Club has made me feel like I am part of a change. The biggest incentive so far has been the club’s friendly, inclusive and active environment.
2. What sorts of events does your club run? Our club does not only focus on the cultural aspects of Cambodia. We wanted to help students become more aware and well prepared to face rapid globalisation once they reached adulthood. That is why we will hold educational workshops, cultural workshops, employment workshops, meetings, and group bonding between the team members. 3. What has been your best experience from your membership? I was able to meet many amazing people and be part of this amazing team. Together we faced many problems and planned projects that I never thought of doing. This allowed me to gain a more open perspective in other areas and help me grow as a person. 4. What are your club’s plans for the future? I can’t say for the rest of the team, but for me, I want this club to be acknowledged and recognised by more people. I want to create more events that will be beneficial to our team while also being wonderful memories before graduation.
2. What sorts of events does your club run? Amnesty is very diverse in its activities. Our events include relaxed social gatherings, like movie and quiz nights, and ranging to more serious events like collecting signatures for petitions and the Write for Rights Campaign. We also have events affiliated with national, international and interstate Amnesty branches where we collaborate on campaigns and raise awareness for a common cause. Our events suit everyone, from a passionate activist to someone with a budding interest and a limited time. 3. What has been your best experience from your membership? The best experience has been getting to know the people in the club through social gatherings and picnics. I did not know anyone in the club when I first joined so getting to know the members and working together as a team has been a
confidence-building experience. I would highly recommend anyone to join in any of our events since official membership is not necessary.
Adelaide Health and Medical Students Association (AHMSA) Maxim Buckley 1. Why did you join the club? I’ve been involved with various clubs for a while and figured it would be great to get involved with the club specific to my discipline! The club is super welcoming of all newcomers and focuses on everyone having a great time at any event they put on . 2. What sorts of events does your club run? The club runs your typical social events such as quiz nights, ball, pubcrawls (usually) etc. Where the club shines is our industry focussed events and major drop-in sessions. From personal experience, the degree is somewhat unfocused, this of course being intentional, but this can certainly be scary for a first year trying to find their place! The industry events showcase all the different careers graduates from the degree are now working in, something that is
3. What has been your best experience from your membership? Definitely organising the quiz night. I love quiz nights and have always wanted to organise one and the club gave me the opportunity to do so, which I am so appreciative of! Also, just meeting all the wonderful people in the Health and Med from a variety of disciplines, it’s a really cool degree with so many different people taking part! 4. What are your club’s plans for the future? To continue offering the best experience for Health and Med students on campus, to keep supporting them in their endeavours and providing a little fun along the way. Also, to support the Women’s Collective and Pro-choice in their fight for affiliation!
CLUB SPOTLIGHT
4. What are your club’s plans for the future? We have a lot of exciting things planned for the coming half of the semester starting with a movie night followed up with a panel of guests. We also plan to do periodic social gatherings and discussion nights. We update our social media (Facebook and Instagram) on events fairly regularly, so keep an eye out for updates!
invaluable when trying to figure out what pathway you’d like to take. As for the major drop in sessions, these showcase what each major has to offer and helps students better understand which major could benefit them most on their ideal career path.
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ECON DIT Modern Monetary Theory Explained Words by Madison Terrell Following the COVID-19 economic crisis, the Government has rushed to support the wavering Australian economy by spending billions and billions of dollars. From JobKeepers, to JobSeekers and everything in between, it leaves us wondering where on earth the Government is getting this money from? And how will we, the next generation, pay it all back?
With coronavirus measures totalling over $135 billion, they must have certainly needed to borrow a lot. So, who do they borrow from? China? the World Bank? Fortunately, no – the Government raises the funds needed through issuing government bonds. Bonds are essentially an IOU from the Government – you buy the bond now and get the money back later (usually with interest).
‘Australians know there is no money tree. What we borrow today, we must repay in the future,’ stated Treasurer Frydenberg. This means increasing taxes and cutting Government spending. But what if there was a money tree? Well, according to some of the world’s leading economists, there is. If you’ve had the privilege of being in the infamous Steven Hail’s class, then you would have heard the words Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT, once or a hundred times. MMT is a progressive way of thinking about monetary policy and sees Government deficit as not inherently a bad thing.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (the RBA), Australia’s central bank, has been buying a lot of these Government bonds, announcing they will buy as many as the Government needs. How does the RBA have such deep pockets though? The RBA is responsible for issuing our Australian currency, so, according to MMT, they just print more money, or add some zeros into the computer and type the money into existence. They can do this as Australia is a monetary sovereign. What this means is we have our own currency with a floating exchange rate – our currency isn’t tied to the gold standard, or fixed to another country’s money, like the US dollar. We have total control of our currency.
To explain MMT, we need to start from the basics about where Government money actually comes from. The conventional thinking is that Government expenditure is funded through taxes, and if there is a shortfall, the Government borrows the rest.
Although the RBA is an independent institution, it exists through federal legislation and is accountable to the Parliament and the Australian people. By blurring the line between the RBA and the Government, the Government can be seen as simply owing
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money to itself. If that’s the case, then why do we ever need to pay it back? Well, the Government deficit has typically been seen as a signal of a weak economy. Politicians have simplified the economic debate to household budget analogies, making us think we need to see the Government’s bank balance like we see our own. But we are currency users, whereas the Government is a currency issuer. Thinking about it in an MMT framework – taxing does not precede spending. A dollar is created through keys in a keyboard. To have that dollar spent, the Government must pass legislation. Through taxation, the Government gets that dollar back, basically cancelling its existence. The dollars that haven’t been taxed back yet is the Government ‘deficit’, or, according to MMT, it is a private sector surplus. Hence, there should be no sense of burden for the Government to pay it back. This doesn’t mean the Government has no constraints on how much they spend, nor should it abolish taxes. It may not suffer from financial constraints, but there are some very real constraints on how much can be produced and how much can be consumed. If the Government keeps creating money without taxing it back, running a limitless deficit, there will be too many dollars in the system. There has to be enough demand for the currency to meet the supply. If the supply is higher than the demand, meaning there’s too much Government spending, we’ll go beyond the productive capacity of the economy. Prices will increase, leading to inflation. If prices rise too fast, this can cause hyperinflation, which can cause some serious consequences. The role of taxation is
to, therefore ‘delete’ some of those dollars from the private sector so this doesn’t occur. However, inflation in Australia has been too low for years. MMT economists are saying that if we’re not experiencing inflationary pressures from the COVID-19 stimulus, then why should we pay it back? Many people don’t believe that MMT can work, and to be fair, it does say that everything we thought we knew about public finance is wrong. Yes, this is an unorthodox way of thinking, but we are in unorthodox times. But let us not forget that the abandonment of the gold standard and introduction of inflation targeting were all met with scepticism. Further, the RBA has already said they’ll be considering unconventional monetary policies, so why not MMT? MMT may be the way to deal with our modern challenges of COVID-19 recovery, climate change and income inequality. We could afford to spend much more on public health and education, scientific research, renewable energy and social housing, whilst at the same time offsetting unemployment. One of the key champions of MMT is our very own Geoff Harcourt Visiting Professor of Economics, and chief economic advisor to Bernie Sanders, Professor Stephanie Kelton. If you’re interested in MMT, I highly recommend you read her new book The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy.
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Online education from a rural perspective Words by Grace Franco It is quite a strange feeling being from the country and moving to the city for university. It’s a feeling that not a lot of people get to experience. For example, on my first day on campus last year, I walked onto the University of Adelaide (UoA) grounds, a place which is responsible for educating some 21,000 students. This is almost 5,000 more students than the entire population of my hometown, Port Lincoln. Views of education within the regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas are very different, as well as people’s general outlook on life. Take my youth in Port Lincoln as an example; I had limited role models in my life to prove that a tertiary education was necessary, or even that a degree could be beneficial. There were a few doctors, a couple of lawyers and of course the teachers who taught me. Growing up, I never fully understood that these professionals had gone to University and worked hard for their education. This was because that lawyer was not a lawyer, she was my friend’s mum. The doctor was not a doctor, he was the local basketball coach. And the teachers, well they became almost like my friends because I spent so much time around their families in the community. Growing up in the country impacts greatly on a student’s education. I know this, RRR students know this, even the SATAC board knows it (that’s why we get the bonus points). If you still do not believe me, here are some facts from
the 2018 National Regional, Rural and Remote Tertiary Education Strategy Final Report. Individuals who grow up in RRR areas are: 40 per cent less likely to gain a higher-level tertiary education qualification less likely to complete secondary schooling. Only 63.9 per cent of students in inner regional areas and 40.3 per cent of students in very remote regions complete year 12. far less likely to apply for higher education, despite controlling for differences in ATAR scores 7% less likely to accept their university offer as compared to metropolitan students twice as likely to defer university offers between 35-50% less likely to complete tertiary education These figures clearly show there are deficits in regard to education faced by RRR students. In an attempt to find the UoA’s data on RRR students, it became apparent that this data is neither collected nor published. You have to understand that ‘being from a rural, remote, regional place’ is not the reason that up 40% of RRR students are less likely to gain a tertiary education. There are many factors that contribute to RRR students being unable to access the same quality of education as those from
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Costs of relocation are significant, and they are not just financial. We have to leave home, leave family, friends, and jobs. We have to find new homes, new friends and new jobs in a job market that is already crashing. We have to learn to live independently and pay for it, all while settling into Uni life. Not only do RRR students have to deal with home-sickness, missing important family occasions, birthdays, weddings, funerals but we miss out on going home, seeing our parents and cuddling our pets. We miss out on having our parents support us while we study, having them bring us a cup of coffee while we pull an all-nighter and having them support us through SWOTVAC breakdowns. These are just some of the events I have missed and things that I wished I could have had in my first year at University, metro students might not even think about,but I’ll never know what that is like. To highlight another injustice of being a rural student, I will tell you this is a true COVID-19 story of mine. I, for financial reasons, had to move home to Port Lincoln and I am currently a fully external, regional Adelaide University student. While trying to schedule my timetable to be a remote student, I contacted the university and asked how to enrol in remote learning. I was told, ‘you shouldn’t have to be a remote student in Port Lincoln, there are no border restrictions between Port Lincoln and Adelaide.’ To me, it sounded like this adviser was telling me that they expected me to drive eight hours three
times a week to attend my classes. Let me put that into perspective for you. Say myself and a student who lives in a metro area leave home at the same time, this would be the scenario: the metro student catches public transport, goes into uni and watches four two hour lectures at normal speed, I would leave home, drive for eight hours, arrive in the city and would be trying to find a park while the metro student packs up after a long day of study. Briefly put, time has a major impact on what we as RRR students can do. COVID-19 has taught our community and our world that it is possible to work from home and that is possible to learn online. Albeit it is not easy, there is no accountability and working from home is a much less supportive and studious environment,but it is possible. It is possible to support students who cannot attend in-person classes, it is possible to have medical appointments via Telehealth, and it is possible for Universities to support rural, tertiary students to study their chosen degree, whilst also maintaining residence in their home community. Moving to Adelaide for University has been one of the most challenging and wonderful experiences of my life so far. I am so grateful to all the wonderful people I have met, and so thankful to my family and friends back home for their love and support. Please understand that I am not saying that as a metro student, University is easy. Au contraire, I am saying that metro students know how hard University and University life can be. But could you imagine how hard it would be, doing it without your family near?
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metro areas. These factors include the cost of education, the social impacts on students, the mental health implications of added stressors, and of course the cost of relocation.
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international international student student news news Diary of an unforgettable road trip Words by Nhu Quynh Hoa (Ruby) and Ru Jia (Dorothy)
Winter break was a great time for travelling, and four of us, Danny, Dorothy, Jason and Ruby, couldn’t miss the chance to explore South Australia before semester two started. We are international students coming from different parts of the world - Taiwan, China and Vietnam, having different backgrounds and doing different programs at the university but the major thing in common that brought us together on the road trip was our love for travelling. However, it wasn’t a normal trip for most of us, except for Danny who had already experienced something similar before. It lasted for 8 days with a total distance of over 3400km. To put the number in a perspective, Ruby shared with us that the length of her home country, Vietnam, was approximately 1650km, merely half the total length of our road trip! Day 1 - being immersed with sunset, steak, and red wine We set off from Adelaide with our first stop at Bumbunga Lake, which turned
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out to be pink when looked from afar. We then reached Port Augusta, the junction which lead to our destination - the Eyre Peninsula. From the Water Tower Lookout, the whole city looked like a painting with a river passing through and the Matthew Flinders Red Cliff at a distance. The highlight of day 1, in fact, was the sunset view at Point Lowly Lighthouse where we could get many great shots before heading to our accommodation - a cabin at Whyalla caravan park. Staying in a cabin was a totally new experience for most of us, but it felt like home there. Such a homely feeling was even more obvious when we cooked together and enjoyed the beef steak with a few glasses of red wine. Day 2 - chasing the fresh seafood It was worth being an early bird since the Whyalla sunrise was amazing. We then paid a visit to the Maritime Museum but unfortunately it was closed due to COVID-19. What a good reason to come back there! Our next destinations were a collection of beaches. If the beach in Lucky Bay gave us a local sense when
Day 5 - getting tanned with the sea lions We woke up in a cabin next to the sea. After a big breakfast, we started our journey with the first place of interest Murphy’s Haystacks. Before entering the venue, we left some cash in the honesty box. There were huge granite-stone “sculptures” in this place. It suddenly rained heavily, and the mushroom-like stones became our natural umbrellas.
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Day 4 - oyster shucking class and the first life-threat incident We were all satisfied with the interesting Coffin Bay oyster farm and tasting tours which allowed us to sit in the water and taste oysters fresh out of the sea. After the tour, we also learned how to shuck an oyster and Jason proclaimed
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Day 3 - saying hi to rainbows The first challenge encountered by our team was Danny’s back pain. Perhaps it was the result of his packing exercises prior to the trip. Poor Danny! Not only that, Port Lincoln also welcomed us with strong wind and rain. However, those obstacles could not stop us from our craving for seafood at the Fresh Fish Place. The food amazingly relieved all our worries, including an unexpected incident where Dorothy was locked inside the restaurant toilet! Anyway, there was a rainbow on our way to the next destination and we knew that it was a sign of good luck. We could admire a lot of breath-taking scenery, starting with the cliff at Lone Pine Lookout and then the Whaler’s Way Sanctuary. We then said goodbye to Port Lincoln before heading to Coffin Bay where we enjoyed a cooking class hosted by Ruby to make cold spring rolls.
himself an expert. We left Coffin Bay and continued our journey to other wonderful places like the Sheringa Roadhouse which resembled a quirky museum, the spectacular Locks Well Beach with the stairway to heaven, and Talia Caves. As we left the last destination in the late afternoon, an unprecedented incident happened. A kangaroo suddenly jumped across the road, right in front of the car, leaving us a real panic. We reached Venus Bay feeling tired but excited at the same time since it was time for the dinner that we had been longing for the whole trip - hotpot!
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we saw some families chilling out in the sunshine, the beach near Port Neill was beautiful thanks to its untouched nature. Following the seafood frontier journey, we couldn’t help ourselves but to have a seafood feast in Port Lincoln that night. The question was how we could make it to the seafood market before it closed its doors. “You have 15 minutes here”, said Danny when we stopped for some selfies at the Silo Art at Tumby Bay. Finally, we made it and had the greatest seafood meal ever.
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We then headed to our next destination - Labatt Sea Lion Colony. The sea lions were taking a nap on the picturesque beach, covered with the warm sunshine. They lived happily and cozily with other kinds of seabirds. After that, we went to the magical Whistling Rocks. It was very interesting that when the waves hit the cliff, they passed through the hollows of the rocks, creating a noisy whistling sound. Penong was our last destination of the day and the small city welcomed us with the gorgeous sunset. Day 6 - the special yellow road sign and whale watching We had a long drive that day. On our way to the Head of Bight to watch the Southern Right whales, we stopped at the unique road sign “watch out for camels, kangaroos, and wombats” for a group photo. To our surprise, the whales were giant mammals. Slowly they floated on the sea surface, occasionally spraying high water jets through their stomata. We also found out that they had different personalities when we watched them up close. Some of them were lively and active, lifting the tails out of the water. Some of them were quiet and gentle, floating on the water. In that season, the whales came to the area to calve and breed, so we could see the calves stay close to their mothers’ side. We continued our journey and reached Murrawijinie Caves, a collection of three caves formed by the percolation of water through limestone before heading back to Penong. Day 7 - being lost in the Ranges We started our day with a drive-thru around Penong Windmill Museum. Our next stop was Lake Macdonnell, known as “Pink Lake”. The lake was divided by a narrow road and one side of it magically
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turned into pink. Just near the pink lake, Cactus Beach appeared gorgeously and the place seemed to be a heaven for surfers. We waved goodbye to Penong and continued to discover a new path along the Eyre Highway. Once reaching Minnipa, we climbed the huge Pildappa Rock and got a glimpse of the scenery with blooming canola oil flowers in the surrounding farms. As per the plan, we entered Gawler Ranges National Park but got lost there trying to find a way to the Organ Pipes. Exhausted and disappointed, we arrived at our motel, but the beers and cocktails in the pub made us forget all about the hardship we had. Day 8 - natural giant mirror We added Mt. Ive to our list just a few days before. It turned out we made the right decision as we were stunned by the view in front of us. The quiet surface of the lake reflected the silhouette of the sky and the mountains. When the wind blew, the surface of the lake glowed like diamonds. The water in the lake was shallow so we could walk and stand on the salt blocks. We felt as we were standing on top of a giant mirror. Interestingly, there was another ‘Organ Pipes’ in the Mt. Ive area and after a bit of walking, we admired them in awed silence. On the way back, we encountered countless kangaroos, sheep, emus and donkeys as if we were in the safari. After that, we had the best view for dinner ever with the Matthew Flinders Red Cliff blended in the amazing sunset colour and then drove back to Adelaide. The trip was truly an eye-opening experience for us to get to know the beauty of South Australia better. Eyre Peninsula is so special in its majestic wild scenery and the specialty of fresh
seafood, especially oysters. It was interesting that during our trip, animals (and even corpses) outnumbered people, which was totally different compared with Adelaide. The road trip was also a great chance for us to learn more about different cultures from our partners. Eight days passed by just like a blink of an eye. We all came home exhausted after the road trip but if someone asked whether we would go on a similar trip next time, the answer would definitely be “Yes!�.
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A HIDDEN TRUTH ABOUT MULTICULTURALISM: IN THE WORDS OF
ANJALI MALHOTRA Multiculturalism is often said to exist in communities, nations and in society as a whole, when the coexistence of various cultures and backgrounds occurs without the presence of discrimination and assimilation. However, there are a few factors that closely follow multiculturalism and often go unnoticed or are blatantly ignored. One of these aspects is the extent and degree of racism that exists within the very communities and nations that are said to be multicultural. One may wonder how this is possible when from afar it seems that people are coexisting in harmony along with their cultures. However, what one cannot ignore when taking a
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closer look is that in many streets, offices, schools, and the nooks and crannies of society, racism still exists. This so-called modern world is not often all that modern. People are still pushed to the side because of their background. Children are still bullied and deprived of opportunities because of their culture. Individuals are still made to work twice as hard as others to receive no or little benefit of their efforts because of their appearance, language and ethnicity. Would it be even more surprising if I told you these things occur in our presence, and although we sometimes may not recognise them, or we may turn a blind eye, they are still occurring and affecting many
people psychologically, physically, socially and to extents from where there is no or little recovery. They could also be occurring to you and I, and we may not even recognise it at first, having been repeatedly told that we live in a multicultural society now so racism could never happen, especially not to us. So, what can we do? To answer this, we need to understand why it occurs. Racism takes place because we allow it to. We allow it to manifest in our communities, our societies, and in our mindsets. We perpetuate it unknowingly, and often knowingly. We experience it and believe that it is a way of life because we do not know how else to react or what else to do or maybe because the stakes are too high to call it out. However, it is high time that we stand up to it. When we see it happening to others or experience it ourselves, even if we think it is only a small remark, or maybe the person carrying it out doesn’t even realise the portrayal of their actions, we need to stop it right then and there. We need to stop it before small remarks turn
into big actions and subconscious acts become brutal conscious displays of discrimination, and we need to stop it together. Standing up does not mean carrying out violent or hurtful actions yourself or passing on the hate just because you have experienced it yourself. If we all play our part in breaking the cycle, if we all speak up when time calls for it, and if we all put a stop to it the moment we recognise its occurrence, then one day we will be able to live in a world where racism is a concept of the past; eradicated like a disease. The need of the hour is not to think that nothing will change and I can’t do it alone, it is to believe that you can be the voice that brings change and then watch as others step up to do the same until no one faces racism ever again. And the day this happens, the day racism no longer exists, will be the day when we can truly say we live in a modern world.
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Apps and oranges:
The best fake apps imagination can buy
Words by Felix Eldridge
RATE MY SEMINAR PARTNER: Have you ever had a terrible group member in a seminar (or several)? Well, now you can rate them using the app. If this person doesn’t do work or show up, give them a bad rating and everyone else will know not to rely on them. Alternatively, if they’re good, give them a good rating so that people know what they’re getting when they’re partnered with them.
UNI NAP: Ever wanted to take a quick nap on campus but everywhere seems full? Uninap is for you. Uninap’s new tracking software allows you to see an interactive and up to date map of all currently available vacant napping spots on campus. Find your nearest napping spot today, it might surprise you.
UNI CRAP: Like Uni nap but for . . . well . . . you know.
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SEEKING (ACADEMIC) ARRANGAMENTS: Having trouble finding your ideal ghost writing soul mate? Are your current one night cram stands just not what you’re after? Worry no more, with SAA, you’ll be given a state of the art contact service to find your perfect ghost writer. SAA guarantees a match every 14 minutes. Find experienced single ghost writers in your area now! PADMASTER: Are you constantly stuck under the word count for assignments? Do you feel like you’ve covered the course content adequately but still need that extra 100 words of filler to get to the minimum word count threshold? Padmaster is for you! Our high-tech software will analyse your essay and add words that will blend seamlessly into your assignment. Fill your essays with sweet nothings, your reports with useless statistics and all your work with unnecessary adjectives today.
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Are you one of privileged members of the AUU? Do you love going to the free lunches every fortnight for members, but hate standing in line to wait? Well, introducing AUU Queue Booker. This patented scheme forces some hapless arts intern to stand around in line for you while you catch up with friends, catch up on lectures or just catch up with sleep. Your queue member can be dispatched from three handy locations such as Barr Smith Library, Elder Hall and Engineering North. Concerned about the human rights of the arts intern? Don’t be, AUU Queue Booker has signed a deal with the University to ensure that every hour spend waiting in a queue will count to the Adelaide Graduate Award.
PLAUSIBLE EXTENSION GENERATOR:
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Ever gone to a vending machine and put in a whole 2 or more dollars, only for the machine to jam and your lovely food or drink to get stuck there forever? Well fear no longer, for at the touch of a button Vending Machine Shakers will dispatch one strapping gentleman to your location to physically pick up the vending machine and shake it vigorously until your purchased item falls out. Please note that VMS is not liable for any damage to the vending machine from use of its services.
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Words by Ashley Jayasuriya Club events come in all shapes and sizes, and I wish I could attend all of them, let alone write about all of the ones I’ve been to. I would say I’ve been more privileged than most in that regard. Being part of one club (GAMES Club) has directly given me the impetus to experience so many more clubs, their cultures, and members, than I ever otherwise could have. Board games are no longer the heavy commitment they once were, with a wide range of quick and easy-to-pick-up titles now flooding the market. Perhaps that is why so many clubs have thought to include them in their events. The club event I’d like to talk about in particular is the Maths Society Meet and Greet (and Eat). While I’m not studying maths, as a Computer Science student my degree does involve it, so I would have already been at this event. However, I had the privilege of providing board games for the event. Imagine my surprise when upon reaching the Maths Learning Centre, boxes in tow, there were already a great selection of games there.
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There were plenty of people coming from classes, so the turnout was small at first, but that ended up being a good thing as it gave us a chance to play some games with David, one of the staff who runs it. Even before meeting any of the committee, David made the atmosphere very welcoming, inviting people in and offering up suggestions for games, some of which were actually of his own design!
One of my favourite games was one which only required a couple of whiteboards and markers but could take a big group of people. There were about ten of us playing, where each team had to break each other’s code using general questions about arithmetic, but that’s all I’ll say in case you’re intrigued enough to see for yourself. It only took about twenty minutes, but that was enough time for the attendance to double. Regrettably, it would not be COVID-safe right now, we were at the limit that night, save for the table laden with pizza when that arrived.
events I’ve been to were collaborative. It’s something that’s gotten better in the past few years. Even outside of bigger events like Multicultural Week or Sustainability Week, the clubs community is becoming aware of each other, and are learning that despite all of our niches, we have a lot more in common than we ever thought. Clubs can transcend so many divisions, whether it’s culture, age, politics, or sexual identity. When they collaborate, they provide us all with opportunities to experience new ideas and possibilities, and that’s what university is ultimately all about.
There was no awkward small talk, questions about each other fit naturally into the experience after we’d all been asking exponentially smaller questions relating to the rules of how to play. Besides these there were also plenty of maths toys- so even if you felt like the odd one out, or were just feeling like a break from trying to win something, you could chill out by trying to build an icosahedron out of triangles. There was no alcohol, but it wasn’t missed. The committee integrated themselves so well into the event that, rather than having their title get in the way of connecting with them as people, you were more likely to meet them in the middle of a game than just another player. It’s definitely an event I’m looking forward to again when social distancing permits, because all in all, it added up to a fun night. I’ve had similar experiences at other such events. Even when it hasn’t been a games collaboration, some of the best
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TOLERANCE IN THAILAND: I LIKE SOMTUM, BUT MY FRIENDS DON’T Words by Benson MacAllister
In March this year, I returned home unexpectedly - thanks to COVID from an 18-month volunteer Christian mission in Thailand. My responsibility as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was to share the doctrines that we believe in with the people, and hopefully some of them will join. That meant we had to talk! We also taught a free English language class. We weren’t qualified teachers, those English classes certainly weren’t amazing by any means, but it was fun and outside of my comfort zone. Some people we met chose to listen to the doctrinal message that we had to share, entirely free. Only a small portion of those people willingly became members of the church. Sometimes I was overjoyed with the work, but sometimes I was deeply upset. The entire experience was outside of my comfort zone, but I learnt an especially important lesson. Thai food is fantastic. It is flavourful, delicate, and out-of-this-world 34
awesome… But it is also really spicy! A Thai dish that is a favourite among local and foreigner alike is Somtum – Green Papaya Salad. It can be sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy all at the same time and can be combined with almost any flavour you can imagine. For most people, they start with only one chilli (Thai chillies are hotter than ours), and slowly add more in over time. Some people start at 10, others at 40 (though that often has undesirable consequences the next day!) Personally, 1 was enough. But as the months flew by and the hot weather became pleasant weather, so too did chilli become pleasant! Before I knew it, I was eating 10 chilli Somtum. I like Somtum, but some of my friends don’t, and that’s okay. While I was indulging myself with Somtum and Pad Thai, I was also meeting hundreds of new people. I had learnt the language and embraced much of the culture. At first, I could only take it step by step, things were
new for me and not what I considered to be normal, but I could not change them, I had to change myself. I had to get used to it. Thailand is different, just like how Mexico is different, Germany is different, Kenya is different. When I first arrived in Thailand, I hated it, but after I chose to “Just do it” and forget about my idea of normal, Thailand became somewhere I wanted to be. My tolerance of Thailand grew while I talked with Buddhists, shared beliefs with Muslims and became friends with people who had nothing in common with myself. Whether a person chose to accept the church’s message or not, they had their choice, and that is a special thing. I grew to love the people there. I grew to love the culture there, and I’d give anything to go back to be in the middle of it.
So, when we expose ourselves to different people, cultures, and foods, we grow our tolerance and appreciation for others. Some of us might, after efforts to engage with a community, realise we don’t like it. That’s okay. Not everything that is placed before us is suitable for us, not everything is according to our taste. Everyone we meet is different, not everyone will like what you like or think what you think. I like Somtum, and I like my religion, but some of my friends don’t, and that’s okay.
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TYRANNY, TRANQUILLITY,TULIPS THE CULTURAL, POLITICAL, AND EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW HORIZONS Words by Nicholas Birchall
The beginning of worldwide COVID lockdowns coincided with what I would argue has been the most influential video game to be released this year: Animal Crossing New Horizons. For many in Australia and around the world, New Horizons was probably something that kept you company on those long, lonely isolation days, and is probably the reason you bought a Switch. For some, however, New Horizons was just that, a new horizon, whether that be for socialising, celebrating, or even activism. To begin, I think it’s very important to acknowledge the phenomenal impact the Animal Crossing franchise has had as a whole. For close to 20 years, Animal Crossing has been a symbol of comfort for many. Between the cute art-style, anthropomorphic villagers, and funky beats, it’s acted as home-away from home, a true form of escapism. Many friends have cited Animal Crossing games as some of the most emotionally captivating video game experiences. Building your town from nothing, befriending all the locals, fishing in streams and catching nothing but anchovies! It’s cathartic in an indescribable
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way. Although tasks may seem mundane, at the heart of things, that’s the point. It only seemed right that the ultimate cathartic escape would come at the time when the whole world needed it most. As the saying goes, when it rains it pours, and boy it absolutely flooded. Sold out worldwide within a matter of days, the wait lists for this game were weeks, even months long at times. Coupled with a world-wide shortage of Nintendo Switches, it seemed like everyone and their anthropomorphic dog was playing New Horizons. Very quickly, stories came in across the globe of people connecting, whether that be with old friends, family, or even strangers. Despite being locked in our houses, hundreds if not thousands of kilometres apart, New Horizons allowed us to remain as close as ever. I personally even witnessed a digital wedding take place. The possibilities seemed almost limitless. However, not so far away from our own little island nation, to keep with weather metaphors, a storm was brewing.
The Hong Kong Protests were entering their 13th month at the time of New Horizon’s release. In a continued fight for independence that had seen daily demonstrations from protestors, a global pandemic seemed like the only thing that might stop the colossal juggernaut. Hong Kong and its people, as they always do, endured. Despite a continued mandate by the authoritarian regime to see all protestors sent into lockdown, Hong Kong endured. The battle of ideas, it seemed, did not need to be fought in the streets alone. Demonstrations took place across thousands of islands in New Horizons, with protestors decorating their tropical paradises with anti-CCP, ProIndependence rhetoric. Doctored photos of Xi Jinping as Whinnie the Pooh began appearing like wildfire across the digital landscape.
to rebel against the authoritarian regime tightening its grasp over the archipelago. In typical fashion, the game was almost immediately banned from sale in mainland China. This did not deter the protestors. They continued to, grow, organise and demonstrate. Once it was safe to do so, physical protests started again (although they never truly stopped). They continue to this day, and despite setbacks, these protestors remain efficient, engaged and energised. All the good that’s come from New Horizons, all the joy it’s brought to millions worldwide, I’m sure no one could ever have envisioned what it would truly mean to so many. A global phenomenon, it’s hard to meet a young person that hasn’t heard of it. To this day, it remains the second best-selling game on Nintendo Switch, with over 22million copies sold. I think there’s a very good reason for that.
A game focused around building your perfect paradise became a political tool
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INTERESTING ROOMS ON CAMPUS MATURE STUDENTS LOUNGE (DOWNSTAIRS FIX LOUNGE) Words by Steven Morley Being a third year student, you don’t often find too many secrets on campus that weren’t exhausted in your first year. That doesn’t mean that the uni doesn’t have a few up its sleeve, as I discovered at the start of this semester. One of my favourite places to study, up until about 4 weeks ago, was the little ‘shed’ on level 3 of the HUB. If you know where I mean, you know that the four small tables in that area are only big enough for 2 people at best. Add a bag stocked with textbooks and you’re left with a perfect table for 1. I have since uncovered a much better place than the ‘shed’. The Mature Student (MAS) Lounge in The Fix building, located down the stairs. Not only is this place much quieter than the HUB, but being around students of similar age range (23+) is really uplifting and inspiring. With the space including lockers for a small fee, amenities like a kettle and communal fridge, it’s the perfect place to study for mature aged students. Having said that, nothing in this world (or campus) is perfect and with the MAS lounge lacking any form of accessibility, this amazing space is completely locking out mature aged students with a disability from entering it. Hopefully the university will amend this soon and install accessibility to the room or relocate to another part of the campus that does.
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WOMEN’S ROOM (LEVEL 8 OF HUGHES) Words by Anika Pietek The Women’s Room is exactly what it sounds like, a space hidden away where us girls can go to procrastinate our lives away. The ever-growing book collection tucked away in the corner ranges from trashy romance, to self help, to educational titles. Grab one of these novels, plonk yourself down on one of the pink couches, and enjoy distracting yourself from the woes of university life. Of course, the Women’s Room is much more than a quiet space to get away. Having been recently refurbished by the Women’s Collective (WoCo) team, the room now boasts a large variety of pads and tampons for those days when your body decides to surprise you. Seriously, there are boxes of the stuff! Generously donated by U by Kotex. There’s also a range of teas displayed dramatically on pink and gold high tea stands and a collection of cookies to dip in them. While you’re sipping that tea, you can gaze upon motivational posters, or people watch from the new location up at the top of the Hughes building. The Women’s room is pretty much a self-care haven. Its also a popular spot for WoCo events, which include book clubs and Tuesday catch ups. On those days the space transforms into a social room to meet other awesome women and catch up with your gal pals. See you there!
GEORGE DUNCAN ROOM (LEVEL 6 UNION HOUSE) Words by Rebecca Etienne The George Duncan Room (commonly referred to as The Rainbow Room) is a LGBTIQA+ safe space located on Level 6 of Union House. The Rainbow Room commemorates the life of Adelaide University Law Professor George Duncan, victim of a homophobic hate crime in 1972, This room ensures that his legacy lives on in society today by dedicating a space on campus to LGBTIQA+ students to exist and feel accepted. With a microwave, a fridge, condoms, dental dams, queer books and resources, the rainbow room is the perfect space for LGBTIQA+ students to study, hang out with likeminded peers and (sometimes) have a nap!
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Artist Spotlight: Alinda Tunc Words and Art by Alinda Tunc Interview by Larisa Forgac
How did you get into making art? Where does your inspiration come from? I actually started making art in primary school while taking private tutoring from my friend’s mum every Saturday for over 10 years. Since then, painting and sculpture have become ingrained in my character. I now see my art as deep of a reflection of myself as I view myself in the mirror! My works are inspired by how life moves around me, words from my elders, folklore from my Turkish heritage, and international politics. My process from inspiration to art is a bit disorganised because I tend to get ideas at the most inconvenient times and will need to take notes on the closest thing I can find because ideas can come by and pass real quick. When I get inspired by something I want to conceptualise in my art, I use my Notes App to draw my ideas but tend to forget about them. So right now, I just found colourful scribbles like drawings of 11 red wooden cowboy boots placed in a circle, a massive blood shot eye on a roman pillar with blood-stained wings spurting out the back, and one of buildings and helicopters drenched with giant parsley. I’m constantly excited to make my scribbles a reality.
Your work is very versatile: you work with different mediums including acrylic and oil paints and sculpture. What is your favourite medium and what do you enjoy about working with it? I mostly use acrylic, but I prefer oil! Oil is less convenient because it’s a bit messy, but I love how it moves and feels on the canvas while it’s still tacky and wet. I recently started sculpting and have a lot of ideas for new works. I love using my hands to manipulate and feel the medium between my fingers. What are some of the themes you like to explore in your work? Is there an issue or subject that you feel like is important to your art and who you are as an artist? I admire the way lot of political artists create and conceptualise their ideas in their art, like Ai Weiwei and our family friend Irfan Ertel who is from my mother’s hometown in Izmir, Turkey. My uncle and Ertel were close and were prominent protestors together against the Turkish government during the 80’s. I think that history in my family is my fire in incorporating political themes in my art. The artwork with the fish and chains is about the overfishing crisis in Sierra 41
Leone. The one with all the butteries and shrubbery is about the toxicity in consumerist culture. Who are your main influences and role models in the art world? My inspirations are mostly surrealist artists, and include Giorgio De Chirico, Otto Dix, Lucian Freud, and definitely Pablo Picasso! In terms of style, JeanMichel Basquiat is a big influence. Directors like David Lynch and Jean-Luc Godard are also my role models. Their creations have definitely shaped how I perceive a lot of reality. Some, if not most of your work is very abstract. What is it that draws you to this particular style and what are some of the motifs and elements you like to use in abstract art? I’m a sucker for symbolism! Everything in my art has meaning. For example, a lobster is a symbol for changing times and that everything we perceive is of human creation. Did you know that in the middle ages, lobsters were left for the lower class to feed on because sea creatures were considered rats of the sea and were worthless? At a certain point in time, that all changed, and society viewed lobsters as a delicacy serving them for the elite. Green spherical orbs symbolise the world and creation. I picked that specific symbol up from Giorgio De Chirico. Tell us your favourite painting or work of art! For the longest time, my favourite painting has been the 1937 oil painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso. It depicts 42
screaming, suffering, and fleeing people and animals entrapped in civil war (specifically it’s about the bombing of a Basque Country town, Guernica, by Nazi German and Fascist Italian forces). I was actually writing a 4,000-word essay on the painting during a trip in Spain and by chance we stopped by the Reina Sofia in Madrid, and I came across it. It was one of the whackiest coincidences I have ever encountered. Seeing the massive canvas in person moved me so much that I cried right then and there.
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Will Someone Please Tell Me How To Refund These Flights?:
the story of wishful thinking and a cure-all girls trip Words by Katie Moularadellis
Shots shots shots! One last weekend in Stuttgart was to be unforgettable. Okay maybe not quite. It’s a little hazy remembering the details. But the big picture was unforgettable. Never mind that I had been dumped by text message 24 hours prior. You’re not going to spend your last weekend on exchange miserable said my friends. And I didn’t. A hookup, a hangover, and three days later, I was on a plane, flying back home, home to the place I had envisioned spending the rest of my life, arm in arm with the person who had just broken my heart. Landing back on the tarmac at Adelaide Airport jolted me back to reality. I was home. I was alone. But for the first time in two years, I was free. Mum picked me up from the airport, and after a sleepless and jetlagged night, I dragged myself to the coffee shop down the road to reunite with my best friend of seven years. Also newly single, Cherie was struggling to find her feet as her ex-boyfriend was cut from a more manipulative and possessive cloth than mine was. With our hands clasped around warm mugs of coffee, we talked about life in Adelaide, what it was like to
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be single again, and what the fuck we were supposed to do now. What if we go to Europe for the April semester break? I asked. A short discussion of where we would go and a sip of our coffees later, it was decided. A week in Italy, exploring Rome, Milan, and the Amalfi Coast, before finding our way to Germany for Stuttgart’s Frühlingsfest. The trip of a lifetime, designed as a means to get away, a chance to figure out who we were outside of a long-term relationship. Our excitement overshadowed any doubt our parents had about our trip, as we ignored the news coming from Wuhan, China. Do you want another glass of wine? Day drinking in thrifted dresses at a winery in Lobethal led to a primary-school-style style sleepover and a slightly hungover pair of twenty-somethings booking their flights to Europe the next morning. In all honesty, the trip was a distraction and a very good one too. My future had felt uncertain for some time, as I questioned whether my degree was right for me. The future I’d envisioned with my ex was the only thing that had been clear. But since the breakup, I’d felt more unsure than ever. Adelaide felt at once too empty and fuller than ever before, as I was forced to go to
the places we had been together alone. I hated him for this. The future he’d promised me had been ripped away, and all that was left were fragments of who I was before. So, the trip to Europe was one of the only things in my life that felt certain. That, and the strength that my friendship with Cherie had found. Neither of us were sure how to move on with our lives, but as she kept pointing out, an overseas trip with the side benefits of flirting with foreign men and drinking prosecco while overlooking the Mediterranean was healthier than going out and drowning our feelings in Adelaide’s club district every other weekend. Two weeks after I arrived back home, I was back at work at the pub around the corner. Pouring beers and serving schnitzels was a reminder that I wasn’t completely lost. Work became harder, though, as restrictions started. At first it was just social distancing. One person per every foursquare metres. Hand sanitiser on every counter. But as cases of COVID-19 rose in every capital city, the Prime Minister closed every pub, restaurant, and café in the hopes of quashing the virus. I’d lost my job. The Australian borders were closed to international visitors and the population was ordered to stay at home. Our trip was effectively cancelled for us. We, like everyone else, were forced to stay home. Call me tonight and we’ll have G&Ts and gossip. Phone calls with friends replaced drinks at trendy bars. Zoom replaced university tutorials. Staying home replaced European holidays. 1.5 metres replaced a hug from your best friend. Devastated by the cancellation of our trip and panicked by the spread of the pandemic, Cherie and I tried desperately to stay in contact. Late night phone calls with homemade cocktails became the
norm and we began to realise the distance that had formed between us. We’d never really talked about the bad parts of our relationships, the fights, the anxiety, the huge red flags. Instead we chose to show each other a façade of the perfect lives we had with our partners. Maybe if we had been more honest with each other, we might’ve realised sooner that we were better off on our own. The time spent social distancing, quarantining, whatever you want to call it, led to reflection. I went through the seven stages of grief, grieving my relationship and our cure-all European holiday. Yes, I might have got a little bit stuck at the anger stage but being forced to stay at home meant that I couldn’t just party my sorrows away. I got to know the four corners of my secondhand desk instead, curling myself up in the desk chair, writing page after page in my journal, something I hadn’t don’t since my exchange. Introspection became the norm and instead of exploring Italian villages and drinking Aperol spritzes, I was left to explore the person I now was. I hesitate to take major life lessons away from a literal pandemic, but being forced to stay at home meant that my life of never ending things-to-do-places-to-see-peopleto-meet was put on hold and I found that taking time to “stop and smell the roses” (albeit the ones in my front yard) was something I needed. Personal growth is as never ending a journey as the process of getting a refund for the airline tickets for our European holiday, and it doesn’t have to happen through a grand old trip. Adelaide was only ever meant to be a pit stop, but thanks to forces outside my control, I’ve had to set up here a little longer. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing either.
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THE MANY FACES OF CULTURE Words by Angela Qin
Culture is an umbrella term that incorporates many aspects of our life that we rarely reflect upon. After living in Australia for 5 years, I would only experience a culture shock when directly encountering something truly unexpected. For example, after witnessing my roommate beating her egg with a fork I realised that chopsticks are not used by everyone after all. Different cultures sometimes merge nicely with coincidental similarities. Who would know that a simple tomato-with-egg recipe in China is shared in the Middle East with a few slight changes? On top of that, having spaghetti with chopsticks is much easier than fork – or maybe I just love my chopsticks. Cultures sometimes clash as well, as experiences taught us to hold various
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expectations in the same situation. A simple example would be that in Chinese classrooms, the teacher would dominate the classroom given the vast amount of information to be learned. In return, students are not used to the largely inquiry-based teaching in Australia and often found it hard to participate in discussions. After the initial period of shock though, the majority were generally able to accommodate this new style, while others retreated and continued to learn in their own way instead. Many supports were established in the university to assist students in adapting to the local culture, for example, multi-language services, opportunities to make local friends, and workshops on learning strategies. While the initiative certainly is applaudable, the outcome often varies. One session in last year’s
Council of International Students Australia (CISA) National Conference addressed this issue, highlighting how such opportunities would attract more high achievers despite targeting people who are struggling to adapt. Within such context, it is quite natural that stereotypes are formed. While sometimes harmful and disrespectful, stereotypes are merely people trying to make sense of new information using direct observation and limited experience. As such, many have commented that I am not a ‘typical’ Chinese girl – but what is a ‘typical’ Chinese girl? A wild guess would be those who are quiet in class, dress fashionable, and speak (somewhat) broken English. While these assumptions might be spoton for some, they certainly cannot describe all Chinese ladies. The fault is not on stereotypes, but people who are unwilling to challenge their own thinking.
Nonetheless, there must be some truth given it seems to be a wideaccepted concept. Again, cultural differences come in play. As the Chinese people are generally taught to be modest, understanding, and polite, sometimes we end up giving up chances to contribute to discussions, withholding our own opinion in group assignments, and being unaware how to advocate for self when needed. This is, of course, not understood by the public, and from this miscommunication arises. Cultural understanding is certainly important, though the most effective strategy would be to always have an open and adaptable mind. It is nearly impossible to completely decode a culture, therefore being willing to learn more information is the best way forward in the increasingly multicultural world nowadays.
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did william gibson invent cyberspace? Words by Michael Genrich
Did William Gibson invent cyberspace? Sure, we’d have all the technologies and platforms regardless, but what would we have called it if he hadn’t named it already in 1986? William Gibson (1948) is an American fiction novelist and essayist whose career began in 1977 with the publication of his short story ‘Fragments of a Hologram Rose’ in the sciencefiction journal Unearth. He was born in South Carolina into what he considered a fairly unremarkable ‘monoculture’ and lost both parents early in life. Gibson became immersed in the counterculture of the late 60s and 70s and told his draft interviewers that he honestly had intended to try every mind-altering substance known to man. He spent years adrift in the relative wilderness, sometimes homeless, before the simple beauty of being commissioned to write a novel – with a deadline – shocked him into writing Neuromancer in the early 80s. Neuromancer (1984) signalled Gibson’s emergence as a serious writer, although it very nearly didn’t. After watching the first parts of the now-legendary film
Bladerunner (1982) and having already written a third of Neuromancer, he thought the novel was ‘done for.’ He subsequently re-wrote the first twothirds of the book twelve times. What he produced became a genre-defining piece of science fiction. Before Neuromancer’s release in 1984, Gibson’s stories appeared in sci-fi journals in 1977. But the term cyberspace was first used in his short story compilation Burning Chrome (1986). As a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre, he not only invented the term cyberspace but also collaborated with Bruce Sterling in establishing the steampunk sub-genre in The Difference Engine (1990). Gibson has earned a reputation as a super sharp writer. He doesn’t waste a single word in his characterisations of post-industrial society, postmodern consumer culture, capitalism, and the digital age. There are no happy endings in Gibson’s novels, only mystifying, yet satisfying outcomes. The characters are vivid and real, including the AIs. He saw the internet and the world wide web, augmented reality, and virtual reality before they existed. He saw data trails
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and even wrote about metadata in 1996. Neuromancer has since sold around six million copies. Two more novels, Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988), completed this first ‘trilogy’. ‘Trilogy’ is just a term used to group the novels together in the same universe rather than being interdependent narratives. In the tech-noir Sprawl trilogy, right and wrong are unclear, and characters are mostly irredeemably flawed. ‘The Sprawl’ is a dark and dirty world where endgame capitalism has transformed culture into a brutally chaotic mash-up of technology, money, media, and vice. The opening line of Neuromancer sums it up: “The sky above the port was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel”.
Peripheral. Gibson has written several film screenplays and television episodes. He wrote an early script for Alien 3. Only some of the elements made it to the movie. He released a comic/graphic novel Archangel in 2017 and there is chatter around Neuromancer being made into a film. He has also been an active essayist, commentator, and journalist, releasing a compilation of non-fiction writing and journalism called Distrust That Particular Flavour in 2012. Gibson’s incisive writing includes famous pieces like Disneyland With The Death Penalty: a 1993 essay about Singapore that resulted in Wired magazine then being banned from the country.
His second trilogy, the so-called Bridge trilogy, consists of Virtual Light (1993), Idoru (1996) and All Tomorrows Parties (1999). In this world, Gibson turns his gaze away from corporations and AI to the mass media cults of personality in a more matter-of-fact way.
It’s easy to suggest that William Gibson has been predicting the digital future for decades but don’t call him a futurist. In a 2007 interview with ‘The Tyee’ he said, “Only charlatans say they really know the future” but he’s happy to sit near the futurist ‘tent’ raising questions.
The next trilogy (sometimes known as the Blue Ant trilogy) begins with Pattern Recognition (2003) and continues with Spook Country (2007) and Zero History (2010). Set in a contemporary universe, they mark a shift to realist fiction which finally saw Gibson hit the mainstream best-seller lists.
His work is essential reading if you like to ask questions. Agency is the latest example of Gibson’s ability to find the bleeding edge of contemporary culture and ask gripping questions. You don’t always get the answers you’d expect. Agency was released early 2020 and you can get it at bookstores everywhere. Today, Gibson continues to poke at establishments. He’s active on Twitter as @GreatDismal and revels in using technology as a prop to explore the humanity we see around us every day. Gibson won’t be pinned down to any one platform or genre and remains a prolific cultural icon.
Finally, we reach The Peripheral (2014). Gibson effortlessly blends alternate reality with pop-culture and the far-future. It’s a wild ride with insanely relatable characters and scenes twisted just the right way: not dystopian but not nice. He followed this up with Agency (2020) which begins in a contemporary setting, then gets mixed up in the same mysterious world as The
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FACING A REAL-LIFE, BUT ONLINE, EXPERIMENT
What has been happening with remote working during the COVID-19 outbreak and how to thrive in the virtual environment Words by Mauricio Cruz The beginning of the 21st century brought great changes in terms of communication and technology. As a result, work environments changed too, therefore globalization and virtuality increased rapidly. According to some studies, in 2018, 3.6% of the American workers, worked remotely, however, after WHO’s pandemic declaration on March 11th, these numbers rose exponentially. Interestingly, before this outbreak, 2020’s forecast for remote working and virtual teams was already promising, pointing to the third and fourth quarter of this year as the peak of the movement. However, surely no one was prepared to do the “big jump” forced by lockdown restrictions and safety measures.
Although nowadays it may look like a forced situation, remote working is not new. Indeed, some organizations were prepared enough over the last 5 years by offering at least one day of working from home, and using cloud platforms compatible with remote working. Perhaps some organizations had planned to experiment the benefits of work remotely at some point during the next years, however, this anticipated online future will challenge the skills of their leaders. Therefore, considerations like constant communication, flexibility, technology training, diversity, and trust must be taken by team leaders to thrive in this new era.
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Nevertheless, more technical arrangements must be done, and team leaders are responsible to understand the technological requirements to manage their virtual teams. For example, the access to apps for team meetings and their cost, (e.g. Zoom corporate licence £15.99 per month, per host with a minimum of 50 hosts), moreover, online security concerns due to the exchange and manipulation of sensitive information and data through internet. Likewise, on one hand, it is crucial to acquire skills related with these new technologies to then train the teams to ensure the right function of the technological resources towards the organizational goals. On the other hand ensuring and caring that every worker could have access to the basic technology at home (Internet, computer device and/or smartphone) completes the first step for this equation. According to Megan Dilley from Remote Work Association, the new remote professionals must connect with experienced mentors to help them set their new virtual world. It is important to avoid assumptions from previous work from home experiences because of the possibilities of potential issues like worksite safety, career stagnancy and imposter syndrome. But what happens on the other side, the team members? Nowadays, according to Nicholas Bloom, a researcher in this field, people are at home working alongside their kids and families, without a proper environment and no choice for in-office days. In brief,
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although in the past, remote working was a dream for lots of workers around the world, the transition hasn’t been as easy as expected, therefore, this new experience requires an extra effort, and consideration towards specific interpersonal skills to keep professionalism. Indeed, Roberta Sawatzky, another important voice in the “working from home” field, points out the need of build skills related with interpersonal attributes, rather than, as most people would think, technical ones for technology and advanced software. Emotional intelligence communication, self-direction, trustworthiness, discipline, initiative, flexibility, and self-efficacy are some of the essential attributes that teamers must evolve to thrive in this “new normality”. In other words, you may not be the best using zoom, teams or document sharing software, but, as long as you develop these skills, the experience could improve as well. In general, there are benefits for everybody The US Census Bureau estimates a 4 to 5% of workers’ income is used for expenses related with working out of home, an increase on disposable income alongside reduction of stress levels and getting back the equivalent of 11 workdays per year, are a good motivation to either develop or apply these skills to continue working through virtual teams after the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous research studies about remote working made in 2015 by Nicholas Bloom, found a 13% increase in employee performance. Home workers reported
higher work satisfaction and psychological attitude scores. Simultaneously, some companies reduce overheads by more than 10% and in some cases 30% (Russell, 2020). If that is not enough argument, Russell points out the impact on climate change highlighted by The Consumer Electronics Association stating that remote work saves 9 to 14 billion kilowatt-hour energy per year. If current situations pushed remote working and virtual teaming, it would still be possible to increase productivity by acknowledging and adapting the idea of an “ideal” team. Taking advantage of diversity, and building awareness of particular weaknesses to then, through open dialogue and communication, build trust and support between participants. TIP: The best way to conduct open dialogue is using something called “caring criticism” to deliver negative feedback, using phrases like “I might suggest” and “Think about this.” Then, thank the person who offered it and confirm points of agreement. Fun Fact: 68% of millennial job seekers said work-from-home flexibility would significantly influence their decision to join or leave a company (Fundera, 2020) Therefore, a successful virtual team could be a long-term one too. To sum up Businesses adopting virtual teams as a way to keep running during this COVID-19 outbreak, are required to be flexible and aware of the challenges, but most importantly, the opportunities of this era. Therefore, employers and employees
must agree on the ways to overcome this challenges, reviewing existing research, and communicating their needs. Fortunately, it seems that the benefits are good enough to make it happen. Productivity, profits, mental health and even sustainability, to mention others, are just the “tip of the iceberg” of these benefits. It is important to point out, that, although previously management skills are supposed to be transferred automatically to the virtual environment, several considerations must be taken in account to build trust, commitment and engagement, moreover, in order to fully take advantage of investments on technology, constant training must be performed to empower teams. Finally, communication plays a critical role by sharing the expectations and tasks to be acknowledged and considered as an added value. Therefore, metrics to measure teams and individual’s performance, are as well, an important factor to consider, which by the way, could impact motivation and organization wellbeing. Though not in the best situation, we are part of a worldwide experiment, a revolution in the work environment, a moment of true, the point where theory is meeting reality and therefore we are developing a new “virtual” era that we should own and accept, either for good or bad, this is the beginning of an inevitable future.
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Words by Roberto Rossi
25TH OF APRIL: LIBERATION DAY I have been asked to write a piece on Italian culture. I could have written about food or music, classics when talking of culture – or perhaps some peculiar cultural practices. However, you the reader probably know most of this already: Italy is not the least known country in Adelaide – and even if you did not know, a quick Google search would saturate any demand of such culinary, musical or traditional information about Italy.
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However, what a Google search cannot do is talk about the significance of anti-fascism to Italy’s post-monarchic culture – nor that ANZAC day, in Italy, is Liberation Day and has deep roots within Italy’s anti-fascist culture. Now, before I am accused of being some antifa activist, or a radical leftist, it is important to contextualise antifascism. In Italy it does not equal ‘antifa’ (the latter being the abbreviation of Antifaschistische Aktion). Antifascism, in the Italian context, is an institutionalised concept so deeply ingrained that Provision VII of the Constitution prohibits the formation of the, now defunct, Fascist Party. Similarly, 1952 laws (Scelba Act) punish ‘apologia of fascism’ – in other words, prohibiting endorsement of fascist ideology, with custodial consequences. Of course, this may appear to be just a relic of the post-war peace treaties, or a barter Italy made at the end of the Second World War to avoid military occupation like that of Japan or Germany. Most certainly, an Allied influence was present. However, it is inaccurate to say the anti-fascist sentiments institutionalised in such legal examples are exogenous to Italian culture. The Scelba Act 1952, against endorsement of fascism, is still actively enforced. Similarly, in 1993, the Mancino Act, also still actively enforced, was introduced. This prohibited propaganda promoting ideas of ethnic or racial superiority, including ideas promoting ethnic or racial hate, with up to 1.5 years of imprisonment, or over €6,000
(nearly $10,000 AUD). A comparable Australian law is Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act, introduced 2 years later (1995) and having only civil applicability, with no criminal consequences. Also the Mancino Act prescribes a minimum sentence of 6 months imprisonment (maximum 4 years), for those inciting acts of violence of a racial, ethnic, religious or national background. It also extends the applicability of Provision VII of the Constitution, to ban not just the ‘defunct Fascist Party’, but to ban any party, organisation or movement whose goal is the promotion of racial, ethnic, religious or national violence. Of course, over time, Italy had a re-emergence of neo-fascist organisations. However, none of these movements, but one - the Italian Social Movement – were successful. These movements were rejected over and over by the Italian electorate, or repressed pre-emptively by the Republic’s judicial authorities. The Fascism and Freedom Movement, surviving (on the basis they are not the ‘defunct Fascist Party,’ but a new one) multiple prosecutions under Provision VII of the Constitution, adherent to the World Union of National Socialism, failed to ever reach more than 1,500 members and never won a seat in either of the Italian legislative chambers. Meanwhile, in 1993, a political group advocating for the ‘the defence of the [Western] race’ – known as ‘Western Political Movement’ – was dismantled, under the Mancino Act provisions. Similarly, in the same year, a confederation of neo-fascist groups, known as ‘Autonomous 59
Base’ was also put to an end by Italian law enforcement in the execution of ‘Operation Runa’, resulting in multiple arrests. On the other hand, the Italian Social Movement had more electoral successes, achieving a maximum representation of 109/630 deputies in the lower house and 48/315 senators in the upper one. However, while fond of fascism and founded by officers of the ex-Italian Social Republic (Mussolini’s fascist state in Northern Italy between 1943 and 1945), followed the doctrine ‘Neither reject, nor re-establish’ the former Fascist rule. They achieved such successes only in the 1980s when a gradual process of acceptance of democratic and republican ideology (for most of its Fascist period, Italy was a monarchy) began in the 1970s and was already well underway. Further, in the so called ‘Fiuggi’s turn’ in 1995, the movement was closed and re-founded as National Alliance, which outrightly rejected connections to Fascism, explicitly embracing a full acceptance of democracy as a condition to be a modern right-wing party. As part of this transition, the Social Movement even acknowledged Italians to be part of a culture making them ‘sons’ even of Gramsci. Of course, National Alliance is still a right-wing party and many of its initiatives and ideas are most definitely questionable, but their transition further away from Fascism is representative of Fascism being increasingly less part of what the Italian electorate, and by extension Italy, wants and identifies with. Unsurprisingly, contemporary and surviving neo-fascist parties like Forza
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Nuova and Casapound never won a single seat in any Italian chamber. Further, multiple Italian Presidents had close ties to antifascism, even before the Italian Republic was born. President Pertini, was a partisan during WW2, actively fighting Fascism. President Saragat, actively contributed to Italian resistance to fascism as well, paying such service with political imprisonment during the war. In Italian schools today, classic books that are read include ‘L’Agnese va a morire’ (And Agnes chose to die). The book is about Italian partisans – while National heroes, such as Salvo D’Acquisto - an Italian gendarme killed in 1943 to save 22 civilians from certain death as part of a Nazi retaliation against civilians following an explosion which killed two German paratroopers – are celebrated. And even April 25th, here ANZAC day, is celebrated every year in Italy as the date of the liberation from Fascism, marking its 75th anniversary. Of course, not every Italian is antifascist and some are still fond of the Fascist dictatorship. Similarly, there has been a recent emergence of rightwing populism, albeit (mostly) not of fascist dimensions. However, antifascism is deeply embedded in the national conscience of Italians and its institutions, from presidents to laws, and even schools and festivities. It is a sentiment so deeply embedded that, most definitely, it could be said that being Italian today means being antifascist as well.
OPHELIA FROM POÉSIES (1895) BY ARTHUR RIMBAUD TRANSLATED BY DARRYL DO On a calm, black river where the stars are sleeping, Ophelia, pale as the moon, floats like a great lily, Drifting ever so slowly, embraced by her long veils ‌ - The hunt can be heard in the distant woods. For more than a thousand years, Ophelia, consumed by grief, Passes, like a white phantom, on this long stretch of ebony. For more than a thousand years, her sweet madness Murmurs a love song to the evening breeze. The wind kisses her breasts and prettily arranges Her great veils of hair, cradled gently by the waters; The shivering willows cry on her shoulder, The reeds bend over her dreaming forehead. The wrinkled water-lilies sigh about her; She awakes sometimes, in the crook of a sleeping alder, Disturbing some nest from which escapes a small, fluttering wing: - A mysterious tune descends from the golden stars.
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Pop quiz! Which one of these is not a registered AUU club? A. Car Enthusiasts B. Line Dancing Club C. Anime Club D. Nerf Club Which of these is not a real festival celebrated in Italy? A. Battaglia delle Arancia (The Battle of the Oranges) in Ivrea B. Living Chess Festival in Marostica C. Il Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) in Pisa D. La Festa del Conteggio della Pasta (Counting Pasta Festival) in Bologna The AUU requires that the President and _______ of a club be current students of the University? A. Treasurer B. Secretary C. Vice-President D. Media Officer Which of these does not mean ‘hello’ in a foreign language? A. Salut B. Marhaba C. 你好 D. Adeus Which of these foods did not originate from India? A. Biryani B. Dal C. Roti D. Gorengan Send us an email (onditmag@gmail.com) with your answers. The first person to get all the correct answers will win a prize!
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