BULL Magazine 2014 Issue 7 by BULL Magazine

Issue 07, 2014 / FREE

THE FISH OF TWITCH / ADDICTED TO SEX / GIRLS IN TECH / THE DANISH PLAY / CASUAL FLINGS

Issue 07 CONTENTS

Editors

CONTENTS

Eden Caceda Katie Davern Sophie Gallagher Rob North Sean O’Grady Erin Rooney

REPORTERS

Alisha Aitken-Radburn Hannah Edensor Georgia Hitch Shannen Potter Barbara Taylor Mary Ward

F E ATUR E S

REF

LOGICA

ERE

L STRU

NCIN

G...

CTURE ...

FINDING RESOURCES...

ING... FORMATT

OUNT

D ...WOR

...BETTER GRA

DES

...DU

• • • • • Facebook “f ” Logo

FREE!

Build & store a personal library of research material Cite resources accurately & with ease Collapse & expand sections to focus on specific parts Automatically format to academic standards Collaborate with others in the cloud Use Promo Code BU1403 CMYK / .ai

Facebook “f ” Logo

CMYK / .ai

www.comwriter.com

Contributors

Bernadette Anvia, Joanna Connolly, Cherie Colaco, Alex Downie, Whitney Duan, John-El Khoury, Milly Ellen, Dominic Ellis, Georgia Graham, Sophie Henry, Samantha Jonscher, Rebecca Karpin, Maria Mellos, Emily Shen, Lucinda Starr, Katie Stow, Matthew R. Webb, Lisa Xia

Publications Manager Louisa Stylian

Design manager Robyn Matthews

Design

E DA TE

A REVOLUTIONARY NEW APP helps you get it right

TWITCHING WITH THE FISHES 10 BETWEEN THE SHEETS 13 WHO RUN THE WORLD? 18 DEATH TO TYRANTS AND DIRECTORS SOCIAL SEX AT SYDNEY 32

Simon Macias Peta Harris

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

R E GULARS

The USU acknowledges the Cadigal People of the Eora Nation as the traditional owners of the land we meet on today. The USU recognises that the land belonging to these peoples was never ceded, given up, bought, or sold. We pay our respects to the Aboriginal Elders both past and present and extend this acknowledgement to any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people here with us.

What’s On 04 Editorial & Board 06 Letters 07 Opinion 09 Interview 16 Taste 22 Go 23 Move 24 Learn 25 The Time I Tried 31 Campus Fashion 35 Vox & Classic Countdown 36 Cow & Horns 37 Arts 39 Reviews 40 Experience 41 Club Confidential 42 Shutter Up 44 Comics 45 Ask Isabella 46

CONTACT

editors@bullmag.com.au bullmag.com.au facebook.com/bullmag @usubullmag usu.edu.au/bullmag The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily the views of the USU. The information contained within this edition of Bull was correct at the time of printing.

Write for us!

bullmag.com.au

/bullmag

/USUbullmag

Whether you’re a budding student journalist or have a random idea that could be a great story, email us and you could get published here. editors@bullmag.com.au

bull usu.edu.au WHAT'S ON

Issue 07 what's on

WHAT'S ON

every week

MONDAY

For the FULL CALENDAR OF EVENTS – head to USU.EDU. AU AND CLICK THE CALENDAR.

monday – friday

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR

Clubs & Socs – remember to submit your events on the website!

THEATRESPORTS®

4-6pm, Manning Bar

MON 16

wk 8 (September)

TUE

WED 17

FUNCH Eastern Avenue, 12–2pm

BAND COMP STATE FINAL MANNING BAR 7PM

PRESENTS

THU

FRI 19

wk 9 (September)

POOL COMPETITION

SOLO SESSIONS

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR

5-6pm, Manning Bar

FUNCH

Eastern Avenue, 12-2pm

FOOD CHALLENGE

1-2pm, Manning Bar

series screenings

AUSTRALIAN DISCUSSION GROUP

Get Up! Stand Up!

12-4pm, Manning Bar

3-4pm, Level 4 Wentworth Building

1-2pm, Hermann’s Bar

Debating Regionals

TRIVIA

STUVAC

5:30pm, Hermann’s Bar

$3 dog night

6-8pm, Manning Bar

FRIDAY DJs

$4 tap cider and $4 spirit HAPPY HOUR

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

50 C WINGS

2 for 1 schnitty

free topping friday

6-8pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar 6-8pm, Manning Bar

Sydney Uni, it’s time to ‘deviate’. Leave your lectures and tutes behind this October and immerse yourself in the USU’s Verge Festival – now the largest celebration of student art and culture in the Southern Hemisphere. For 10 days, your lunchtimes will be accompanied by bands rocking it out across two stages on Eastern Ave and JFR Plaza. Join a mysterious sculpture walk around campus or decorate a cake before hitting ‘The Arcade’ – a makeshift computer games room made from a shipping container, showcasing original works from local designers. After the sun sets on the first night, head to the UV party at Manning Bar and experience a whole new world of neon. If bright lights don’t attract your attention maybe Schapelle! The Musical will, plus many more night-time events to get involved in. Go to usu.edu.au for the full program.

Local Bands and DJs

5-6pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, Manning Bar

Wednesday 8 October – Friday 17 October Camperdown / Darlington Campus

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

5.15pm, Alternating Venues

4-6pm, Manning Bar

VERGE FESTIVAL 2014

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

WEDNESDAY

TUESDAY

MUST SEE

4-6pm, Manning Bar

6-8pm, Manning Bar

4-7pm, Hermann’s Bar

4-6pm, Manning Bar

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar All day, Manning Bar

COMING UP 06

wk 10 (September)

4-6pm, International Student Lounge

4-6pm, Hermann’s Bar

wk 11 (September / October)

1-2pm, Manning BarBar

$3.50 house beer & wine HAPPY HOUR

$7 steak night

WEDNESDAY MARKETS Eastern Avenue, 9Am

THURSDAY

LABOUR DAY PUBLIC HOLIDAY

VERGE FESTIVAL WEDNESDAY MARKETS Eastern Avenue, 9Am LIGHTHAUS - OPENING NIGHT UV PARTY MANNING BAR, 7PM

VERGE FESTIVAL THEATRESPORTS GRAND FINAL Manning Bar 1-2pm

VERGE FESTIVAL SCHAPELLE! THE MUSICAL MANNING BAR, 7PM

18 SEP 19 SEPT

SCHAPELLE! THE MUSICAL MANNING BAR, 7PM

VERGE FESTIVAL

VERGE FESTIVAL THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF TRIVIA - GAME OF THRONES TRIVIA HOLME REFECTORY, 7PM

VERGE FESTIVAL GET UP! STAND UP! KEEP CUP! FT. FRANK WOODLEY MANNING BAR, 7PM

VERGE FESTIVAL

VERGE FESTIVAL THE GATHERING - VERGE CLOSING NIGHT PARTY HERMANN'S BAR, 7PM

24 SEPT

5 OCT

BAND COMP STATE FINAL Saskwatch + Sietta

8 OCT

26 SEPT

RAW SHOWCASE

Lighthaus: Verge Opening Party 15 OCT

Revues Awards Night 16 OCT

Sepultura

Get Up! Stand Up! Keep Cup! Feat. Frank Woodley Theatresports Grand Final

Issue 07 7 LETTERS & PICK OF THE MONTH

bull usu.edu.au EDITORIAL

LETTERS

FROM THE EDITORS EDEN, KATIE, SOPHIE, ROB, SEAN, ERIN

BULL wants to hear from you While our minds are already planning trips to the beach and music festivals as we pass the middle of the semester, our bodies are trapped in the mundane drudgery of uni life. Luckily for you, BULL has your reading covered while you dream of a place where you’d rather be. Our campuses’ student media promised raw, sweaty journalism this year – and at risk of following suit we’ve never refrained from plonking the nocturnal bedroom activities of students onto our pages, with Hannah Edensor, Eden Caceda and Whitney Duan teaming up to take on contemporary sex issues in this edition. While Hannah delves into the realm of casual sex, and the discrepancies between what we’re taught in our formative years and the real-life young-adult experience, Eden and Whitney question the existence of sex addiction. But that’s enough bedroom talk. The dynamic world of tech is thriving with young people increasingly taking the risk

of starting their own business. However, the industry is still largely male-dominated and Erin Rooney chats to four female entrepreneurs to find out what resources are available to women in Sydney wanting to run their own business. Meanwhile, from the comfort of his own room, resident video game enthusiast Rob North clues us in on the live-streaming phenomenon, where legions of keyboard warriors, button smashers and e-Sport fans tune in. And on the University stage, Sam Jonscher provides a thorough retrospective on one of the most ambitious SUDS projects to date: Hamlet. We’re following Barbara Taylor’s lead and trying not to apologise for a week, so we hope you love this edition of BULL as much as we do, but if you don't...suck it.

BULL wants to hear from you Email editors@bullmag.com.au

Tell us about the stories you shared with your friends or those you placed on the bottom of your budgie cage. Or just write and let us know you’re lonely. Email editors@bullmag.com.au

TOUCH THE SKY

AFFORDABLE LUXURY BRAS OR BUST

Dear Phantom Overlord,

Dear BULL,

I must say that your attempt at waxing lyrical last issue made me cringe hardcore. So from one wannabe rapper to another, here’s a little advice for you. First of all, if we can learn anything from Yeezy, it’s that the more you talk yourself up, the more successful you will be. So amp that ego up a notch, and generate some Kanye self-confidence. The Eastern Avenue fans will follow. Secondly, get yourself a bucket hat on that head already for goodness’ sake. If you want to move from being a hype man to an internationally recognised artist and style icon, take a page out of Schoolboy Q’s book and have a little taste at least. And thirdly…coffee sometime? You seem to have a good grasp on lyrics at the very least and I could use a brother like that in ma’ hood.

Jordan Mullins’ article about the bra industry really hit the nail on the head – if my breasts have to go to boob jail every day, it had better be in style. Let’s all write strongly worded letters to Victoria’s Secret to bring their bras to our shores.

~ Scratchin’ Beggar smaller Revues will soon see the York hosting more of our talented students! Georgia raises some very good questions in her article, and the Board is working alongside staff to ensure that come next season all of our Revue students receive the best opportunities and experience possible.

Eds: If this means there are going to be more impromptu curbside rap battles on Eastern Ave, we’re all for that.

Honi Soit, arguing that the USU favours more established revues over those of traditionally marginalised groups, like Queer Revue. As President, what is your personal opinion of her statements, and what is the USU doing in response to her claims?

B: Only two candidates out of a total 17 running for USYD Senate are wom*n, whilst the USU’s last four President’s have been wom*n. Do you think the Senate could learn from the USU, and should implement policy to ensure greater equality in future elections?

TW: The money allocated to each Revue

TW: It is beyond disappointing that there

Eden Caceda’s feature on HIV/AIDS scared the hell out of me. It took me right back to the days where I wouldn’t share a glass of water with anyone for fear of getting meningococcal. If anyone needs me I’ll be hiding under my covers until all the diseases go away.

is purely based on the cost of the theatre in which they perform: the York Theatre, being the largest, demands the most significant fee and thus Revues which have a proven record of being able to fill its seats receive the money to support their venture to do so. Traditionally these have been Faculty Revues like Science, Medicine and Law, though I hope the growth of our

are only two wom*n in the undergraduate Senate race, and, with no exaggeration, a farce that there are no wom*n in the postgraduate race. It calls for greater encouragement of wom*n’s leadership at the grassroots level, and more active engagement of the Senate in informing wom*n of the leadership opportunities available to them.

deregulation will severely impact those from low socio-economic and rural backgrounds, and minority groups – so we will be continuing our conversations with other student organisations to engage in further action if necessary. B: Georgia Kriz recently wrote an article in

Q&A: TARA WANIGANAYAKA USU President B: If VC Michael Spence continues to ignore

students’ opposition to the deregulation of university fees, and the government goes ahead with the policy, what will the USU do to combat it? TW: It will be disappointing if the University

continues to push for deregulation. The Board of Directors strongly feels that

DISEASES ARE TERRIFYING Dear BULL,

~ Anonymous Eds: If only all the world’s problems could be solved by hiding under bed covers…

~ Serial online shopper Eds: Never underestimate the power of a strongly worded letter. You never know what free stuff you might get.

RESPECT STAYING FAITHFUL Dear BULL, Running the risk of being called rigid, dogmatic or, even worse, a social conservative, I have to say I was not impressed with Natasha Gillezeau’s piece on polyamory. I have obviously heard all the arguments and not automatically dismissed them as either immoral, indecent or just simply too ‘out there’. However, excusing one’s inability to remain in a monogamous relationship for whatever reason is questionable. There is no doubt staying faithful could at times be challenging for many reasons but it is not a requirement of being with someone, it is primarily a test of one’s moral strength that has absolutely nothing to do with upbringing, religion or the so-called rules imposed on us by society. ~ Joanna (BIGS/Law) Eds: Thank you for your letter Joanna. Polyamory is quite a subjective topic!

PARENTS ON FACEBOOK Parents. They’re there through good and bad: guiding you through childhood and pushing you through the tumultuous teenage years towards adulthood. And just when you thought you’d finally found independence, forming your own unique identity, a safe haven for your social life, BAM! They discover Facebook. Surveying your every move, sharing your every status, commenting your worst fears…it’s an embarrassing parent’s dream. They learn more about your life and your friends’ lives than you’d ever let on, spying out prospective suitors all the while. And then, just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, they give a struggling post of yours a like – the only like. The cyberworld equivalent of “Don’t listen to the other kids, I still think you’re beautiful”. But parents being online can have its perks. Because it doesn’t take long before you realise that your friends are in the same boat, and the potential for watching them get embarrassed along the way by childhood photos is just too great to ignore. Plus, who doesn’t secretly enjoy the occasional corny inspirational quote that parents post? So this month, take a moment to appreciate and just laugh at parents fumbling their way through social networking. Because let’s face it they’re better than tweens on Facebook.

Issue 07 OPINION

OPINION Please Don’t Ask Me To Ice Myself

Shannen Potter If you use social media, read the news, watch TV or look out the window occasionally you’ve probably seen someone dousing themselves in a bucket of ice cold water. These people aren’t (confirmed) masochists, experiencing the thrill of moderate physical discomfort for your newsfeed viewing pleasure. Rather, they’re participating in the ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – more commonly referred to as motor neurone disease in Australia) Ice Bucket Challenge, and, while well intentioned, they are ultimately damaging the efforts of charity work in the long term. While no one can deny that the challenge has raised significant and needed funds for ALS research, the phenomenon of moral licensing means that those who throw a bucket of water over their heads and post it online are less likely to donate to

The Red Bull and Ritalin Cocktail: Keeping USyd Students Sharp

Milly Ellen

WEEKLY

BADG W DRA

For many students in need of a pep-up during peak assessment periods, psychostimulants usually reserved for those diagnosed with ADHD called methylphenidate (Ritalin) are increasingly being illegally procured in the pursuit of those illustrious High Distinctions. As outlined in the Code of Conduct for Students, USyd students are expected to ‘act ethically and honestly in the preparation… of all forms of assessment’ and ‘avoid any activity or behaviour that would unfairly

charity in the future. Basically, committing a charitable act allows us to feel like we are good upstanding citizens and we give ourselves licence, or permission, to hold back on charity work and acts of kindness for a while. Therefore Ice Bucket Challenge devotees are redirecting money from other charitable causes towards ALS and are less likely to donate to charities, including ALS research, in the future.

many of the challenge’s participants never actually donate money to the cause, instead citing the amorphous goal of ‘raising awareness’

advantage or disadvantage another student academically.’ But given the difficulties many students face in balancing hectic uni/ work/internship schedules, and the pervasive cheating that plagues a number of faculties, how badly are pill-poppers actually rorting the academic system? Around 75 per cent of university students have a part-time job in tandem with their studies, which is a significant jump from around 20 years ago, when the number was closer to 18 per cent. The reasons for this could span a volume of works, yet the fact remains that students have less time to study because they’re rather preoccupied with affording rent and electricity bills. In contrast to students who live at home, with everything catered for and few financial woes, the students doing it tough

Additionally, when the meme was originally spawned the rules stated that the nominated person must become familiar with the inside of a bucket of cold water or donate money to an ALS charity. In effect, this means that many of the challenge’s participants never actually donate money to the cause, instead citing the amorphous goal of ‘raising awareness’. The act of showering oneself in ice cold water and sharing the video online is more than enough to bring moral licensing into effect, meaning that potentially the challenge has actively reduced the amount of time and funds which will be donated to charities over time. Donating money and time to charity or a cause you feel passionately about is an admirable act, and funding medical research can make a substantial difference to those suffering particularly from rare or relatively unknown diseases. However, charity work and activism need to be undertaken as part of a sustained effort motivated by genuine concern, and not as a short term reaction to an online trend.

are already suffering from socio-economic disadvantages. With the small amount of time left to those living independently, study needs to be efficiently carried out, and Ritalin is far more effective than a couple of Red Bulls. If taken in moderation, at prescribed doses and with no other contraindicating pharmaceuticals, methylphenidate use has few risks, no long-term effects, and welldocumented positive effects on working memory and attention. Compared to those who outsource assessments and pay for their success, it seems unfair that those who are most disadvantaged at university should receive such vilification for consuming Ritalin, in comparison to the outright cheating that is advertised on bathroom stalls and endemic within many USyd faculties.

10 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Issue 07 11 FEATURE

twitching

with the fishes Rob North dives into the live-streaming sea of videogames, and finds a community that’s anything but floundering.

When Grayson Hopper started his gaming journey to be the very best, like no one ever was, he couldn’t have possibly imagined that his every move would be watched, commented on and critiqued by 4.5 million people worldwide. In fact, it’s almost certain that Grayson still isn’t even aware that he is on a journey to begin with. And that’s because he’s a small freshwater fish. Broadcast live over the Internet on the popular gaming focused live-streaming platform Twitch, Grayson, the real-life fish, has been struggling his way through the iconic Pokemon Red videogame for the Nintendo Game Boy. The aptly named channel, Fish Plays Pokemon, received more than 4.5 million views over the month of August. Grayson’s tank is divided into a grid of nine squares that correspond with the buttons of the physical version of the 90s handheld gaming device, with his every movement analysed by a motion-tracking camera. When Grayson swims into the grid square labelled with an ‘up’ arrow, for example, his in-game character reacts accordingly and moves up. While it is certainly true that watching a fish stumble through a videogame is probably just a passing fad that has merely caught Internet users with too much time on their hands hook, line and sinker – it is also a clear indication of the massive changes the Internet has brought to the videogame world, and the growing popularity of the live-streaming of videogame content in recent years. Twitch, by far the most popular live-streaming service, received 45 million unique views per month last year – a staggering number that few could have predicted when the startup launched as the gaming arm of the now defunct Justin.tv midway through 2011.

In fact, live-streaming has become such a big deal that the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, snapped it up for almost $1 billion in late August, following earlier reports that Google was attempting to do the same. “Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement, “and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of minutes of games each month.” Initially the service gained notoriety for its broadcasting of professional e-sports tournaments and the candid gameplay of professional gamers outside of competition, from which fellow players could seek excitement or look to improve their own skills through observation. But it’s since morphed into a strong and active community where like-minded people around the world can chat while watching their chosen gaming content, with Twitch’s Vice President of Marketing Matthew DiPietro telling the website onGamers, “It’s safe to say Twitch is the central hub for the entire video game industry to share their passion for games.” And though much of the mainstream media continues to denigrate videogames and their live-streaming as the pastime of children and basement dwelling nobodies, with the BBC’s Jim Reed infamously opening his recent report with the rhetorical question, “Who would want to watch teenagers just clicking away playing their videogames all night?”, the raw figures and interest from large commercial entities don’t lie – watching others play videogames has become an extremely popular source of entertainment for netizens.

“Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon.”

Fans in a Flutter Grayson is but one star amongst the 900,000 unique monthly broadcasters on Twitch – including full-time professional gamers earning prize money, comedic personalities earning ad revenue for their streams, and amateurs earning the kudos of their peers – but he certainly is one of the most novel and popular at the moment. The fishy stream was set up in under 24 hours by two US students, inspired by the original Twitch Plays Pokemon – a viral sensation that saw as many as 100,000 Internet users at the same time work to collaboratively beat Pokemon Red in just two weeks. It was often chaotic, with chat commands dictating the movement and actions of the player character, although periodic moments of democratic voting were later adopted to allow faster progress. Fish Plays Pokemon displays Grayson in his tank and the actual Pokemon gameplay side-by-side. Through pure luck, our aquatic friend has managed to receive his first Pokemon, and perhaps more surprisingly, narrowly defeated his rival’s Squirtle. At this rate, he’s highly unlikely to ever finish the game, as he spends most of his time sleeping (during which many viewers will remark with morbid humour that the journey has come to an abrupt and tragic end), inadvertently

opening and closing the in-game menu, and repeatedly sending his avatar careening into walls. But thousands of people remain glued to the addictive stream.

objective based rounds where death is permanent – earlier games in the series were a mainstay of professional competition, and this iteration is no exception.

FiSHIES ENTER THE FRAY

3. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft: A virtual

If the trials and tribulations of Grayson are too wearisome for your liking, there’s another stream available – Fish Play Street Fighter – wherein two fish duke it out in the classic fighting game. Comically billed like real prize fighters, the ‘methodical’ Robert the Bruce and the ‘aggressive’ AG.Aquarius (who’s now sponsored by the professional fighting game team Always Godlike) are rivalling Grayson’s popularity with their high-speed frenzied in-game battles.

Most Watched Games on Twitch

5. Minecraft: The highly modifiable indie sandbox game wherein players explore a procedurally generated world, gathering resources with which they can craft items and build structures. Streamers show off creations, embark on quests or undertake challenges, and provide live tutorials.

4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive: An enduring multiplayer first-person-shooter franchise that pits teams of terrorists and counterterrorists against each other in short

trading card game (think of it as the digital equivalent of Pokemon trading cards, Yu Gi Oh, or Magic: The Gathering) set within the Warcraft universe.

2. Dota 2: This stand-alone sequel to the Defence of the Ancients (DotA) custom game mode for Warcraft III is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) – a mesh of action role-playing and strategy games. Players control a single character in one of two teams, and the main objective is to destroy the opposing team’s base with waves of computer controlled weaker combatants marching alongside and against you. 1. League of Legends: Not content with merely being one of the most widely played games in the world – with 27 million people playing every day and over 7.5 million playing at the same time during peak play time – Riot Games’ delightfully accessible MOBA, inspired by the original DotA, is the most watched game on Twitch, and is to many gamers synonymous with the streaming platform.

Issue 07 13 FEATURE

Visit today and take a tour around our state-of-the-art facilities. Offer ends 28 September.

Eden Caceda and Whitney Duan investigate the legitimacy of sex addiction.

14 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Lisa* is a sex addict. A former lapdancer, model and softcore pornstar, Lisa has spent the past two years in therapy trying to recover from her addiction to all things sex related. “I suspected a long time ago that I might be a sex addict, although I never really much did anything much about it”, she says on her personal blog. Described as being unable to control sexual urges, behaviours or thoughts, sex addiction is one of the most newly diagnosed mental disorders internationally and one of the most controversial dependences in recent years. Indeed, sex addiction is also not limited to sexual intercourse; addicts have compulsive needs to masturbate, view pornography or be in sexually stimulating situations, making the diagnosis personal and particularly difficult. In fact, the legitimacy of addiction to sex is of constant debate among psychologists, sociologists and medical professionals. Having lost her virginity at only 13, Lisa makes a point of the fact that she had never been sexually assaulted or had a bad initial experience with sex (something that many people attribute to sex addiction later in life). Despite her addiction, Lisa has been in a relationship for five years and is the head of her own business. “I’m happy at where my life is despite my addiction. I’m not on the street. I’m thriving and trying to change my ways.” In fact, statistics have determined that approximately 10 per cent of the adult population around the world are like Lisa.

Issue 07 15 FEATURE

The concept of sex addiction first emerged in the mid 1970s when members of Alcoholics Anonymous sought to apply the principles of the 12 steps towards sexual recovery: This was in response to serial infidelity and compulsive sex behaviours which are similar to the feelings of powerlessness experienced by alcoholics

Sex addiction is one of the most newly diagnosed mental disorders internationally. and compulsive gamblers. However, unlike other addictions, the amount of people who identify with having a sex addiction has increased exponentially in recent years. Many sociologists have determined that celebrities including golfer Tiger Woods, comedian Russell Brand, singer Casey Donovan and actor David Duchovny have raised the profile of the addiction by declaring themselves addicts. And in a world of constant exposure to, and widespread worship of

sex-related ideas on the Internet, on television and in daily life, people are likely to be reminded about sex more frequently. The Internet has made information about sex more readily available with the alluring promise of anonymity for those curious. While important information about sexual health and consent is now accessible online, the web has also opened up perhaps more ominous doors to pornography and explicit sexual content. Porn is no longer confined to the glossy sealed adult magazines on petrol station shelves; youths are now able to access enormous archives of hardcore pornographic videos at any time, warping ideas about sexuality at a young age. Approximately 40 million people in the United States are sexually involved with the Internet and 25 per cent of all search engine requests are pornography related. Individuals have simply become more involved with sexual behaviour and content. Furthermore, progressive thinkers of the 21st Century have embraced previously stigmatised human sexuality rather than suppressing or condemning it, allowing sex to become more accessible and more involved with popular culture. Apps like Grindr and Tinder have openly condoned and facilitated sexual interactions online, while films exploring human sexuality, like Lars von Trier’s Nymphomanic, have moved out of the niche genre with audiences unashamedly intrigued by sexual psychology. The widespread interest and knowledge of sexuality has opened questions about the

individual’s own sexual behaviour, boosting popularity in sex addiction forums and selfhelp books. Gender and Cultural Studies Associate Professor Kane Race from the University of Sydney also has his own theory on the rise of sex addiction. “It is mainly a creature of popular discourse and the self-help literature. I don’t doubt that some people find their sexual desires, impulses or activities difficult to control. But I think the terminology of addiction is a very particular way of understanding what is going on and not necessarily an unproblematic or always helpful one.” The issue of legitimacy of sex addiction mainly revolves around the idea that addicts are hypersexual and/or promiscuous beings seeking justification and that ‘addiction’ to sex is more of an intense liking rather than a medically curable compulsion. Last year the University of California released results from a study that concluded that many people who claimed to be sex addicts simply had high libidos which explained their hypersexual behaviour. Much of the debate revolves around the use of the word ‘addiction’ itself. “The terminology of ‘addiction’ might be thought of as replacing previous diagnoses of ‘sin’ or ‘weakness’ and it gives the condition an air of quasi-medical authority,” says Race on the use of the word. “The problem with the concept of addiction is that it tends to prescribe individual solutions to problems that might otherwise be subject to collective re-thinking and critique.”

Currently in Australia, there are two diagnostic manuals that are used to help health professionals diagnose mental disorders: the International Classification of Diseases: Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders (ICD) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Though sex addiction appears in the ICD, it isn’t considered a valid disorder in the more recent fifth edition of the DSM. The lack of recognition by DSM V, which is the only diagnostic manual used in the United States, means that it is hard to seek help as a sex addict simply because many psychologists and medical professionals don’t see it as legitimate. However, regardless of the exact terminology, there is a continuing trend of sex addiction in recent years and the development of sex addiction is of interest to many psychologists. “It is no more about sex than an eating disorder is about food or pathological gambling is about money,” says Rory Reid, PhD, LCSW, a research psychologist at UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behaviour talking to WebMD. While from the outset an addiction to sex may not be taken as seriously, it is a highly dangerous and destructive condition that influences an addict’s mental health, personal relationships, quality of life and safety. For Lisa, her sex addiction allowed her to participate in many deviant sexual practices. “I liked the loss of control when being dominated, and became more and

more aware that fear and submission were emotions that really turned me on. I was only 17 years old, and I was letting a guy hold a replica gun to my head, or a very real knife to my throat, and mock force me to do what he pleased. But the thing is that I liked it,” she says. In other reported cases, sex addicts have had relations with underage children, animals or objects. Fortunately in Sydney, there are a number of support groups and therapists to help sex addicts manage and try to overcome their sexual behaviour. Sex Addicts Anonymous is an organisation of men and women who share their experience and help others recover from sexual addiction or dependency and is one of the prime sex addiction management groups. Likewise there are support groups for more specific sexual behaviours including pornography and masturbation. Unlike most addictions, treatment for sex addiction cannot require the addict to give up sex for the rest of their lives. In the recovery process, it is essential that sex addicts learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy sexual behaviour. Despite her addiction, Lisa is committed to repairing her life and changing her mentality on sex. “I want to be able to see sex in a positive light and I want to rebuild my life. I don’t want to be haunted by my addiction so I need to change my life.”

* Names have been changed

16 bull usu.edu.au INTERVIEW

Issue 07 17 INTERVIEW

Interview CHRIS GRAHAM

Chris Graham purchased New Matilda in May this year, he is the Editor in Chief, but it doesn’t pay his bills. I hesitantly describe it as a passion project and he says that it is a good way of putting it. He hopes one day to earn money from it – not to become rich, but to be comfortable. As I listen to him talk for nearly an hour, his abiding passion for what he terms “real journalism”, for holding power to account, is made clear. I come to doubt that failing to profit from the venture would spell failure in a personal sense. Just so long as New Matilda continues to break big stories under his tenure – as it has done already by uncovering Frances Abbott’s allegedly ill-gotten scholarship to the Whitehouse Institute of Design – then Chris will be happy with his investment. After a series of missed calls I finally get onto him, just returned from “out bush” where he has been working on a story that will have been in progress for over a year when this goes to print. He is drawn to stories about Indigenous Australians and as such spends a large amount of time “out bush” pursuing them. Previously, he helped establish the National Indigenous Times and was Editor of Tracker Magazine – formerly the official publication of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council – before the publication was suddenly abolished earlier this year. Graham recalled first going “out bush” as a “young privileged white man” and being taken aback by the vast differences between the realities of indigenous affairs and what he was taught in school. He was particularly stunned to find relationships between Indigenous and White Australians so poor – something that has improved little throughout the decades and throughout his time reporting on Indigenous Australians. He has just returned from Walgett, a town, he tells me, which has a large number of Aboriginal residents and has a reputation for violence. Given my inability to place Walgett on a map, I take his word for it. His experience of the town is entirely different. He finds there, and in many other towns with a high proportion of Indigenous populace, that there is an incredible sense of community. The fact that he is welcomed into these communities seems to mean a great deal to Graham. Indeed, he believes that White Australia aspires to the degree of hospitality he finds among Australia’s first inhabitants, but falls miserably short.

Graham is at once in awe of the resilience of the first Australians and indignant about what they have been made to endure. It is this indignation, and 20 odd years, that led him to work with John Pilger as a producer on the documentary Utopia. Graham tells me that Pilger was a childhood hero of his. Now, having worked with him, Graham has elevated Pilger to loftier heights. A veteran investigative journalist, Graham felt like he had nothing left to learn until he worked with Pilger. As I swoon over Pilger’s evisceration of Warren Snowden, member for Lingiari, as seen in Utopia, Graham tells me he was in the room and sweating even though the cameras weren’t on him. Graham is humbled by the rigorous research Pilger undertakes for all his stories. He is awestruck as he describes Pilger’s mastery of the interview as art, and demonstrated by Warren Snowden’s interview. “It wasn’t manipulation, Pilger just knew where to jab the guy to get the truth out,” says Graham. He goes on to tell me that the thing he really admires about Pilger “is that he doesn’t just stand outside the tent and piss in, he’ll piss all over the tent that he’s in”. Having heard that, it comes as no surprise that Graham has very little love for mainstream media. News Limited, Fairfax and the ABC are treated with equal disdain throughout our conversation. He accuses Fairfax and News of “exploiting ignorance in the community”. I mention that I rarely visit a Fairfax website, he tells me that he only does in order to write a story that criticises their reporting. Whilst he never professes to any specific political ideology, Graham is obviously progressive. That being said, he appreciates journalism that comes from any ideological base whether or not he agrees with it. Media can campaign on political issues, he contends, “but they need to be honest about it”. Mainstream media, in his mind, does not meet this standard. He is ardent that journalists need to be outside of the establishment in order to fulfil the role of the fourth estate. This means taking risks. There is “no greater compliment as a journalist than to attract the attention of police and politicians”– something Graham has achieved on countless occasions. The most notable incident occurred whilst he was working at the National Indigenous Times: in possession of leaked cabinet

documents, he had his house and car raided by Federal Police. In a subsequent Freedom of Information request, it was revealed that his phone was also tapped. He takes personal pride in exposing himself to risk, but he doesn’t believe the trait to be common to his profession. Referring to journalists from mainstream news outlets he says “the only risk they take is getting so drunk they pass out at the press club”. Graham refuses to be subsumed or intimidated by the architecture of the state, although he is appalled by it. Even in the wake of allegations by the NSW police that Freya Newman, UTS student and former employee of the Whitehouse Institute of Design, leaked the details of Frances Abbott’s scholarship to New Matilda, Graham refuses to confirm that Newman was the source. This refusal doesn’t prevent him from being incensed by the mainstream media’s character assassination of Newman. It was lucky, then, that the opportunity to buy New Matilda came along when it did. The abolition of Tracker left Graham without work. Uneager to freelance for the mainstream media for which he has little respect, buying New Matilda has given Graham a platform to continue to hold (or at least attempt to hold) power to account. Alternative media is his true passion. He believes people “want more regular and aggressive news”, and he is compelled to give it to them. It also allows Graham to continue reporting on Indigenous affairs. He has expanded New Matilda’s coverage of it and plans to take it further. I ask him if, in an ideal world, Indigenous affairs ought to be solely the work of Indigenous reporters. His response boils down to a maybe. New Matilda has recently hired an Aboriginal reporter for that purpose, and Graham hopes to hire more in the future. Yet he also thinks that anyone can do it, just so long as they take the time, as he has done, to attempt to understand the culture and perspectives of the communities they wish to report on. Just as he doesn’t have the understanding necessary to report on Inuit Americans, it is little surprise that a Fairfax cadet often misrepresents Aboriginal affairs. Graham loves journalism, but believes its contemporary practice is largely broken. He wants to help fix it.

Sean O'Grady Photo courtesy of caama.com.au

18 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Issue 07 19 FEATURE

WHO RUN THE WORLD?

S t a c e y Ja c o b s / T i d y

Jessi ca

Wilson / Stashd A

Erin Rooney questions why the startup space is still male-dominated.

From Ada Lovelace in the 1800s, technically known as the world’s first computer programmer, to successful female entrepreneurs today, such as Kath Purkis of Her Fashion Box and Shoes of Prey founder Jodie Fox, women in the tech space is hardly a new concept. Yet there exists a crude stereotype that the key players in the tech world are limited to geeky men in their garages playing with gadgets. And what this always brings home is the fact that the successes of female entrepreneurs often remain unsung. Women are doing some incredible things in business in Australia. From fashion, through to tech, more women are embracing fear and taking the risk to start their own companies. In fact, as recently as June this year, the Gender Global Entrepreneur and Development Index ranked Australia as the second best place in the world to be a female entrepreneur, after the US.

With the decline of the manufacturing industry and rise in the use of technology, the landscape of Australia’s workforce is constantly changing and young people are increasingly spotting opportunities and finding gaps in the market to launch their own startups. In order to accommodate this trend, many universities around Australia have established accelerator programs to fund student startups, such as the University of Sydney Union’s own program, INCUBATE. Though the number of women applying to INCUBATE is rising since its launch in 2012, male students still largely dominate the program. James Alexander, Founder of INCUBATE, speculates that this problem stems from the fact that fewer women are enrolled in technical degrees such as engineering and computer science in Australia, which teach skills that lend themselves well to developing the platform of a tech startup idea, such as coding

Zoe

Palm er

/ Brand Chemist

a website or app. As a result, James explains that there are incredible opportunities available for tech startups targeted at female consumers – and one need only look at the success of Pinterest to see that this is the case. For women thinking about applying to enter the program, he stresses that this is one of the areas where opportunity is ripe for female entrepreneurs, particularly attracting the interest of investors. “I think if they’re a woman entrepreneur, and they want to produce a product specifically for women, that’s something they should definitely do, because there’s not enough of those. And they shouldn’t think that’s a bad thing to do – in fact it’s fantastic.” Despite receiving a majority of applications from male students for INCUBATE, James explains that the most successful startups that have come through the program so far have had female co-founders, as females often provide leadership qualities that are beneficial to early-stage startups, such as excellent communication skills. Female styles of leadership are greatly supported by biological anthropologist Dr. Helen Fisher, author of The First Sex, who has written widely on the cognitive gender differences between men and women and their leadership skills. She coined

niel

le Flet

cher / PropellH

the term ‘web thinking’ to describe the way that women make connections in their brain, lending themselves better to weighing up more variables, and seeing a great range of possible solutions to a problem. Men, on the other hand, are generally better at what she calls ‘step thinking’ – focusing their attention on one particular thing at a time. These styles of thinking allow for greater diversity in the management of a company when working together, proving advantageous to future planning.

“Technology needs to be seen more as a vehicle to drive innovation. Women, too, have the potential to be the next Mark Zuckerburg.” Although the startup world is largely male-dominated at this point in time, this has not deterred many young women from jumping in and making waves.

20 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE One such woman is Stacey Jacobs, founder of tech startup Tidy, an online platform for booking house cleaners in the Eastern Suburbs. The website has already received a healthy response, reaching 50 customers in its seventh week since creation, and she dreams of expanding it beyond the East. “I’d been thinking about starting my own company for a while, after working for other tech startups for the past three years, and I thought it was just now or never,” says Stacey. “So I made the decision to quit my job, took a week off, and then I founded the company.” Stacey praises the advantages of co-working spaces shared with multiple startups in that they help facilitate networking with other startups and allow the opportunity to meet investors when in the early stages of your business. She has had particularly strong involvement with Fishburners, the largest tech co-working space in Australia. “If you go to Fishburners or any other co-working space there’s more guys than there are girls – that’s just how it is – but tech in general is such a fantastic and welcoming community.” This is a common view held amongst female tech entrepreneurs, including 22-year-old Jessica Wilson, who has had an overwhelming response to her startup, Stashd App, with users in 85 countries since its launch in November last year. The concept of the app combines her knowledge of the fashion industry with a tech platform that enables online shopping by simply swiping left or right, much like Tinder. In her experience working in the tech space, she believes that what’s needed to attract women to the industry is a shift in mentality. “Women grow up with the media projecting what is expected, accepted socially, and on trend, in which tech is portrayed as ‘geeky’ – and who wants to be seen as the opposite of what society deems as what all the ‘It’ girls are doing?” says Jessica. “This is what has to change. Technology needs to be seen more as a vehicle to drive innovation. Women, too, have the potential to be the next Mark Zuckerburg – just with better dress sense.” In Australia at the moment, although women account for 60 per cent of university graduates according to Universities Australia data, there is still a severe lack of women on corporate boards and in executive ranks, pointing to a problem in workplace retention amongst other factors. A report conducted by the Australian Institute of Management found that flexible working arrangements were the most crucial factor in the attempt to increase rates of workplace retention, with 58 per cent of respondents listing this as the most important consideration to allow change. Many women are finding that starting their own businesses allows for this kind of flexibility, and significantly, allows them to work on a cause they truly believe in. For Zoe Palmer, founder of business-to-business branding agency Brand Chemistry in Sydney, while the primary reason she started the agency was to open herself up to the passion of her practice and for the choice to work with other passionate people, she finds the flexibility of owning the business important to having time to spend with her family. “The biggest benefit for me to it is that I feel like running the business and balancing it with your home life is like you have a bunch of valves to turn,” says Zoe. “So you might have a growth valve, a profit valve, a resources valve, a family valve, and you can turn them all up and down according to what your needs are at the time.” Between the business and her two kids, currently three and six years old, Zoe is incredibly busy, so her networking style has also changed to fit everything in. Instead of attending formal networking events, she says that every few months she’ll meet up with friends and fellow business owners in a grocery store or on a walking meeting to troubleshoot or share experiences, while

also completing a personal task like shopping or exercise. When starting a company, certainly one of the most common and significant pieces of advice from entrepreneurs is to find a mentor that you connect with and who can guide you in the running of your business. “From our data, it’s the single most valuable thing that the startups get out of the program,” says Alexander on INCUBATE. “It’s not the grant money, it’s not the free office space, it’s not the workshops – it’s the mentors they’re given.” There are a number of platforms currently available to women in order to network and collaborate such as business communities like Business Chicks, Women in Focus and SHE Business. However more recently, tech startup PropellHer has entered the space with the aim to connect female mentees with mentors through an entirely online community. Danielle Fletcher, co-founder of PropellHer with business partner Naomi Kimberlin, describes the influence of a mentor as instrumental to her own business journey. While originally a personal branding business, Danielle and Naomi pivoted the idea by taking the concept of career mentoring online following the advice of their mentor Lars Rasmussen, creator of Google Maps and Director of Engineering at Facebook. “At the time, we were very naive and thought ‘we can’t get our wireless printer to work, but hey, let’s start a tech company!’” Danielle says. “So that’s what we did.”

“If you go to Fishburners or any other co-working space there’s more guys than there are girls – that’s just how it is – but tech in general is such a fantastic and welcoming community.” Despite combatting fear and uncertainty at first, PropellHer (www.propellher.com) is now a thriving community with over 2000 mentors. From her own experiences working with people to develop their personal brand, Danielle has found that women often lack self-belief in their abilities, something that mentors can help change. “I think mentors are perfect for that. They’re not only there to share their advice and their experiences but for that support around confidence, and just someone who can be a cheerleader as well – tell you that you’re doing a great job and to keep going. We all need that sometimes.” Interestingly, a common theme emerging in the success of startups is the idea that entrepreneurs should never have to go it alone. There is a wealth of knowledge available to anyone interested in starting their own business through the experiences and support of others, and an extraordinary number of ways out there to connect with these people. Although financial risk and the fear of failure can pose challenging obstacles to those wanting to enter the startup space, the passion and hope in the voices of entrepreneurs is evident of the phenomenal change and disruption they are making to these industries, and in a wider sense, the world. And if all this has taught me anything, it’s what Danielle has put quite eloquently in her own words: “The scariest step when you’re starting your own business is taking the first one.”

Your optometrist on campus. We stock all your favourite brands including Tom Ford, Ray Ban, Prodesign, Ted Baker, Jono Hennessy...

CHRIS MACMAHON OPTOMETRIST Quality eyewear and professional service at an affordable price. Level 3 Wentworth Building University of Sydney. Phone 9552 3324 www.chrismacmahonoptometrist.com.au

22 bull usu.edu.au TASTE

Best in the West

Katie Davern There’s more to Sydney’s western suburbs than cringe-worthy news coverage would have you believe. Sydney’s West is home to a multitude of ethnic and cultural communities so it’s no surprise that it has some of the best, most authentic cuisines you’re likely to find in this city. But not everyone is in touch with this tasty side of Sydney. Alison from food blog Street Food says, “There are new places opening up all throughout the suburb and [food] guides just haven't caught up yet with new tastes and flavours, even some long established ones.” She adds, “We also suspect most of these places are just too difficult to get to in the Land Rover, daahling.” Strap yourself in and turn on the GPS: here are BULL’s top foodie picks in Sydney’s west. El Jannah and Hawa Charcoal Chicken, Granville: It’s the most lauded Middle Eastern eatery you’re likely to have heard of and make no mistake, the take-out style chicken, pickled vegetables and salty chips (and let’s not forget the heavenly garlic sauce or toum) are definitely worthy of praise. If the El Jannah lines are off-putting, walk a bit further down South St and you will happen upon the red, black and white of Hawa Charcoal Chicken, the former ruler of the charcoal chicken roost on South St.

Issue 07 23 GO

TASTE

WESTERN SYDNEY CUISINE

NASHVILLE

El Sweetie, Granville: Another must on South Street if you want to end your night with delicious baklava and feel like a real local with a puff of mint argily and a good dose of people watching. Al Aseel, Greenacre: For fancier but affordable Lebanese dining, Al Aseel (also located in Newtown) serves up an unending stream of Lebanese bread and quality mezze. Vatan and Darband, Auburn: The Bagheli Polo with broad beans, dill rice and braised lamb at Vatan in Auburn is a street party in your mouth and the sweet tang of barberries in the Zereskh Polo will have you coming back for more. Darband, on the other side of Auburn station is another must-try Persian restaurant. Holy Basil and Twelve Spice, Canley Heights: The most famed Lao & Thai outlets with people queuing before the places even open for lunch and dinner. Don’t leave without trying the fried ice cream which comes in adventurous flavours like pandan, black sesame and green tea. Green Peppercorn, Fairfield: Snagging the SMH Good Food Under $30 Guide’s Best New Restaurant title last year was this primarily Lao restaurant in Fairfield. Sundaes served in giant glasses are a bit hard to see over and we recommend one of Green Peppercorn’s pandan (South East Asian vanilla equivalent) desserts – it will rock your senses! Billu’s Indian Eatery, Harris Park: For Indian cuisine, Harris Park is your

Songs From the South

Alison from Street Food’s favourite places to eat in Sydney’s West:

Sophie Henry

1. Kebab Al-Hoja: Merrylands for Afghani BBQ. 2. Fiesta Filipino: Blacktown (the pork in

Being a city girl through and through, my decision last year to venture down south to the dusty streets of Nashville, Tennessee, was an unusual choice for me. Before then, I had never owned or appreciated cowboy boots, while fiddles and banjos made rare appearances on my iPod playlists. Nevertheless, this strange gem of a city stole my heart and opened my eyes to the beauty of the hospitable south. Nashville is one of the most influential music cities in America with a phenomenal history, and a never-ending supply of people to share this love of music with. To this day, I am amazed by how genuinely lovely every person was and the happiness of the crowds we walked by. The first traditionally southern dive bar my friends and I stepped into quickly blew us away with its vivacious atmosphere. It was around four o’clock on a Friday evening and, unsurprisingly for Nashville, a band was playing with an NFL match screening in the background. The bar was full, the crowd smiling and laughing, and everyone was singing along to the iconic tunes of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and John Waite’s ‘Missing You’ as if in a dream. The streets of Nashville are filled with these dive bars and honky tonks, each

taro leaves is a fave there).

3. I ndo Lankan Food Bar: Seven Hills for their Sunday curry on banana leaf specials.

one-stop shop. The whole of Wigram St in particular will transport your senses and Billu’s is widely accepted as one of the best Indian restaurants on the block. La Paula’s, Fairfield: For the best Chilean empanadas or a Chilean chacarero (their famed burger packed with beef, beans and mayonnaise). Chilean cable TV and the array of drool-worthy desserts, almost all of which are oozing dulce de leche (South American caramel), are sure to convert you into a regular. Grano, Wetheril Park: Think rustic furnishings and serving styles, and Mediterranean flavours that are exactly on point. I still dream about the chocolate ravioli (it’s as amazing as you’re imagining). Giotto’s Gelato, Smithfield: I might be upsetting a few people when I say Giotto’s is my favourite gelato place. The institution of Gelato Messina is commendable, but nothing will beat Giotto’s hazelnut gelato. I’m sorry. Photos courtesy of Cherie Colaco

offering live performances as vibrant and impressive as the next. The only way to distinguish the more popular venues is to count the number of signed cowboy boots and pieces of country music memorabilia that line the walls. We ventured further into the depths of the city, and slowly came across more venues and experiences that only made Nashville’s character shine more, allowing our slow growing love for this southern land to blossom further. The Country Music Hall of Fame, one of my favourite stops, offered an in-depth overview of Nashville’s musical history, with shrines to music legends such as Elvis and Reba. Along the way, our taste buds were delighted by the irresistibly delicious homemade toffee apples and other southern delicacies such as ribs, macaroni and cheese, and fried corn. Healthy food is not a possibility here, in case you were wondering. As a music-lover, the country influences really grew on me as this trip went on, and the absolute highlight of this musical journey was our visit to its most famous honky tonk, Bluebird Café. Modest in style and size with a casual feel, this venue felt like a family reunion with my long-lost, overly talented American relatives. Taking the tiny stage that night were four elderly men, no younger than 70, featuring Stevie Ray Vaughn’s former keyboardist and the most-recorded bass player in American history. These were by far the coolest grandpas I had ever seen,

playing a humble, intimate and clearly passionate set. So before I knew it, I had become Elvis’ number one fan, started saying “y’all” more often than is socially acceptable and even considered (note: considered) investing in some cowboy boots. Nashville, you really are the only Ten I See.

A TASTE Of NASHVILLVE IN SYDNEY: 1. Shady Pines Saloon: Hidden in the

depths of Darlinghurst, this bar is the epitome of the Tennessee spirit: great music, southern décor, bearded men and an endless supply of peanuts.

2. Miss Peaches Soul Food Kitchen: With

a menu that is spot-on Southern and a buzzing atmosphere, this place will truly give you the best tastes from Nashville. For an authentic experience, try the sweet pie or watermelon fizz.

3. The Soda Factory: This place is basically just the cool version of Nashville; the menu is fun and authentic, the staff friendly and outgoing and the décor is the southern belle of Sydney.

4. Sydney Country Music Festival: Coming up in November this year and hosted at Bella Vista Farm Park, this festival will surely satisfy all your southern cravings and give your ears a sample of Nashville lifestyle.

24 bull usu.edu.au MOVE section heading

Issue 07 25 section heading LEARN

MOVE

LEARN

TRAMPOLINING

VENDING MACHINES

Hot Fresh Pizza, Straight out of the Vending Machine JUMP AROUND

MARY WARD I was never allowed a trampoline as a kid. Every Christmas and birthday my parents managed to find a new reason why furnishing our backyard with an elevated sheet of waterproof canvas surrounded by exposed, rusty metal springs was a bad idea. Most involved broken bones. And tetanus. So, it was with a rebellious swagger that I entered trampoline centre Boing Central, ready for my first ever experience of trampoline fitness. Trampoline fitness started in the US around ten years ago, but it’s only in the last year that the craze has made its way to Australia. The science behind it seems relatively straightforward: jumping expends energy. Thus, physical activity becomes more difficult when performed on trampolines. The warehouse is covered with trampolines from wall to wall. Some of the trampolines even go up the walls. Despite there being diverse activities like boxing, pilates and a dodgeball competition on offer, I decide to be a traditionalist and take the centre’s TrampFit class. I register and am provided with a free pair of socks which have a plastic grip design on the bottom to avoid any slippery trampoline accidents. Winning! I am in a class of four and I’m the youngest by about 25 years. That being said,

at 20 years old I am probably the median age of the centre’s patrons, given the large number of toddlers drooling through the foam pit. I am also the only person in my class without a fluorescent item of apparel manufactured by Lorna Jane. (Full disclosure: This was at Baulkham Hills at 10:30am on a Tuesday. You can draw your own demographic conclusions from that statement.) Amanda, who is taking my class today, starts us off with some stretches before we move onto the tramps. Next thing I know, we’re doing aerobics on a trampoline. And, damn, it is tiring. Star jumps (making contact with the tramp on both the ‘out’ and ‘in’ movement), lunges, burpees – you name it and Amanda can make you do it on a trampoline with three reps each sequence and a one minute rest. At first, I think my fellow jumpers are taking the piss (no pun intended) by talking about the effect of repeated jumping on their pelvic floor muscles but the rate at which they slip away from class for bathroom breaks soon suggests otherwise. I restrict water bottle usage as we tuck jump and push up to hold on until the end of class, thanking all that is good in this world that I have never used that region to push out a small human. After class, I ask Amanda how she got into trampoline fitness. “My brother and I saw that lots of people were running and doing hard impact exercise that’s tough on your joints,”

she says. “Lots of people were injuring themselves doing that.” “The good thing about trampolining is it’s soft on your joints; great for older people and people with injuries. And it’s such an effective cardio workout.” Too right. Amanda tells me that in 50 minutes I would have burnt 500 calories. To put that into perspective, I would have only burnt 210 calories running for that amount of time (assuming I could run for 50 minutes straight which is… doubtful). The workout’s effectiveness makes almost pissing my pants seem kind of worth it. Would I do it again? Yeah, probably. Free socks, a supportive environment and a serious workout that doesn’t feel like one. Oh, and no broken bones or tetanus. Take that, parents.

Places to bounce in Sydney:

Boing Central Unit 5/6, 4-8 Inglewood Pl Baulkham Hills, 2153 Sky Zone 75 O’Riordan St Alexandria, 2015 FX Zone Uhrig Rd Sydney Olympic Park,

2127

Planet X Entertainment 3/40 Bowman St

Richmond, 2753

Flip Out Various locations including: Brookvale, Parramatta and Penrith Note: no adult classes, only freestyle jumping

GEORGIA HITCH When Haviana thongs joined the likes of chippies, chocolates and soft-drinks in our local shopping mall vending machines, Australian consumers were at long-last given 24 hour access to flip-flops with no human interaction necessary. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said of our favourite Italian cuisine – until now! Installed near the food court of Westfield Chatswood, the Pizza Gio vending machine is making waves serving up hot, ready to eat pizzas in less than three minutes. Owner of Pompei’s pizzeria in Bondi, George Pompei, invested $40,000 in a specialised pizza dispenser which spent two years in development before hitting the Lower North Shore shopping centre in early August. The $12 single-serve hot salami or cheese pizzas are semi-cooked and snap frozen in Bondi, before being transported to the machine where they are kept at a constant temperature until they’re ready to be spat out to a waiting customer. And though some may turn their nose up at the notion of ‘Real Italian Pizza’ pre-heated and stored in a machine, the popularity of the Pizza Gio suggests the idea is not as half-baked as it seems. Although Sydneysiders are only just now dipping their toes into the world of automated food vending, the Pizza Gio’s wonderfully-weird factor is rivalled tenfold by other machines overseas. In China, there are a variety of machines that serve

Technology - Making Life Easier live crabs, housed and kept dormant in individual plastic packages that mimic the shape of a cave. The United States also has its fair share of dispensable delicacies available, including caviar, escargot, and truffles. But unlike your $3 Kit-Kat, these little luxuries will set you back a minimum of $500. Europe tends to be a little more practical, with machines in Germany and The Netherlands offering freshly baked bread, eggs, cheese, and sausages. Elsewhere, other consumer goods are available at the touch of a button, including ties and underwear in Japan, and gold in the United Arab Emirates. Despite the obvious convenience of these vending machines, Dr John Rees of the University of Notre Dame Sydney says we need to consider the meaning and importance of human interaction whenever we automate the provision of goods and services. “The implications of automation on human interaction are complex, with some benefits and some disadvantages,” he says. “We have to determine what is gained and what is lost via these technologies.” Dr Rees suggests that with Pizza Gio and other vended food products, the human element is crucial in order to maintain regulations and protect public health. In the United States, the ethical implications of providing the Morning After Pill via vending machines has similarly been debated, and he argues that human interaction is also important in adequately relaying medical advice. However Dr Rees also recognises that human activity has always evolved and adapted alongside new technology and

E-Learning Though scholars maintain that the Internet was primarily developed to better distribute cute cat pics and provide teenagers with a place to express their anger, the happy by-product for students has been the provision of learning materials online. Skipping lectures has never been easier with the availability of lecture recordings, and we’re told that once upon a time people actually had to spend time looking for books in the library. Driverless Cars Come January, automobiles on autopilot will be roaming the public roads of the United Kingdom. Whether this makes things easier or just makes us humans lazier is yet to be seen, but one thing is certain: without user error car crashes are destined to decline. The only problem, US entrepreneur Bre Pettis told Fortune, is where we will source organ donations. despite their potentially negative impacts, these new vending machines are also leading innovative thinking and research. One of the most expensive vending machines on the market, ‘The Chef ’s Farm’, is doing just that. The Japanese invention, originally designed for restaurants, uses fluorescent lights and man-made soil blend including nutri-cultures to swiftly grow up to sixty lettuce heads over the course of a day. The $90,000 invention is now used around the country by everyday people looking for a healthy and convenient alternative. So for better or worse, vending machines are bringing about change to activities that have remained static for hundreds of years. We’ll just have to wait, coins ready in hand, to see what they bring us next.

Issue 07 27 FEATURE

THE NIGHT IS DARK AND FULL OF TRIVIA

LIGHTHAUS

OPENING NIGHT UV PARTY

GOT TRIVIA

SCHAPELLE!

THE GATHERING

THE MUSICAL

Death to Tyrants and Directors SAMANTHA JONSCHER BELIEVES THAT AMATEURS CAN MAKE ART

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY FEAT. LDRU

ZEDTOWN: DARKNESS FALLS

AND MUCH MORE

HUMANS VS. ZOMBIES GAME

VISIT USU.EDU.AU/VERGE

GET UP! STAND UP! KEEP CUP!

8-17 OCTOBER

FEAT. FRANK WOODLEY

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE ACCESS DESK LEVEL 1 MANNING HOUSE, MANNING ROAD

Image: Travis Ash as Hamlet PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOGRAPHY & & ART ART

MUSIC MUSIC

LITERATURE LITERATURE

EXHIBITION NOW OPEN Wed 8 - Fri 17 October Verge Gallery, Jane Foss Russell Plaza (USYD) City Road, Darlington Peoples choice voting now open usu.edu.au/vergeawards For more information contact The ACCESS Desk - Level 1 Manning House, info@usu.edu.au or call 9563 6000

SHORT SHORT FILM FILM

In 2011, in the comment section of his blog, former Minster for Foreign Affairs Bob Carr offered this advice to a newcomer to Shakespeare: “never, ever see amateur Shakespeare. That is an offence against God”. Carr said this after seeing Kevin Spacey’s 2011 Richard III, shaming Hollywood for meddling in the righteous business of theatre. The quote, now infamous, caught the attention of Nathaniel Pemberton, a University of Sydney student in his first year who was also an eager participant in Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS). An impassioned comment war ensued. Their back and forth came to fruition when Carr attended a 2013 SUDS production of Julius Caesar, directed by Pemberton. He live tweeted the performance from the front row on his iPad. This year, Pemberton again tried his hand at Carr’s cardinal sin: for the SUDS 125th year anniversary he proposed staging Shakespeare’s Hamlet as the Society’s major production. Two weeks after first conceiving the idea, Pemberton arrived at the General Meeting that would decide the ‘Major’ with friend and producer Ryan Hunter. They had drafted a budget, secured the Seymour Centre’s Reginald Theatre and cobbled together a team. The pair was up against two other plays, including an

Australian play by Stephen Sewell, King Golgrutha. According to SUDS president Pat Morrow, “King Golgrutha and Hamlet were excruciatingly close in the final tally. There was talk of running two major productions, partly for the tightness of the race, and also because a 90s play by a Sydney writer and the best known play in English literature seemed a reasonable summation of the society for its 125th year.” But Hamlet won in the end and Pemberton started what would turn out to be a nine-month process for those involved. His 24-person cast, enormous by SUDS standards, was a mix of SUDS veterans and newcomers. Travis Ash came on as Hamlet, making it his eleventh SUDS production. Ian Ferrington as Claudius performed in his fourth Shakespearean part with SUDS and Caitlin West’s Gertrude represented her fifteenth performance with the society. At the other end of the spectrum, Tess Green, who took on Ophelia, and Max Baume as Horatio, had both not acted since high school. When I ask Pemberton after the final performance what his vision was for the production, he told me that it was “everything”. “Have you ever had an experience that left you in awe, overwhelmed?” he asked me. “That is Hamlet the play. Hamlet should leave you completely overwhelmed.”

28 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Issue 07 29 FEATURE

Director: Nathaniel Pemberton

The most common word used by the cast to describe Pemberton’s vision for Hamlet was “ambitious”. The 24-person cast was the largest in living SUDS memory. In the production’s early stages, Pemberton flirted with professionalism. He organised workshops for the cast with USyd Alumni and STC Director Kip Williams, as well as with John Bell, the man behind Bell Shakespeare Company. Even the production’s use of space was ambitious. Pemberton’s Hamlet occupied every available surface in the Reginald that was not filled with patrons, including 360 degrees of balcony space, upstage and downstage exits and aisles. For the set, Pemberton commissioned Hannah Cox – who came to the production cast as Rosencrantz but ended up doing lots of set work for the production – to paint a 20 metre mural that imagined the interior of Hamlet’s mind as the cosmos. Her mural shaped synapses, energy and emotions into an evocative, primordial starscape. For maximum effect, the murals were hidden until a full reveal at the beginning of the play’s fifth act. Pemberton also didn’t cut the play in any discernible way. Most productions of the Shakespearean mammoth focus on one dimension, but Pemberton only took out lines here and there. The final run time was 184 minutes. The production was not only faithful to the notoriously lengthy text but went even further, adding a five-minute introductory montage. Pemberton’s ambition was clear from the play’s opening moments; a wall of bombastic, cello heavy sound hit the audience as the cast silently moved through a funeral, a coronation and a marriage. One principal cast member described Pemberton’s rehearsal schedule as akin to “professional devotion”. In the nine month rehearsal schedule, rehearsals frequently lasted for eight hours,

The cast warm up on the stage

Regardless of how this Hamlet would stack up against the thousands that have come before it, what appeared on the Reginald’s stage was Hamlet. sometimes scheduled three days a week. Speaking to Pemberton after closing night about the demands he placed on cast and crew, he pulled out a picture on his phone of some graffiti inside one of the show’s principal props. It said “death to tyrants and directors”. He laughed it off, “Practice makes perfect. My priorities are simply different to other people’s priorities. Some actors respond to that, others resent it. At the end of the day, I’m an inexperienced director, I didn’t always communicate what would be needed and I didn’t always manage people’s time efficiently.” West, a full-time student, said that it wasn’t all that bad for her as a principal lead. “Nathaniel just really cares, if I couldn’t make it though, he would try and convince me, he would still take no for an answer if I couldn’t make it. I have uni, I have a job; most of the cast did. In the end, I had a great time, and I think in the end, pretty much everyone else in the cast did as well.” If the actors were tired by opening night, they didn’t show it. The show was long, but the audience’s attention was sustained the whole time. Jack Mitchell, as Polonius, carried the first act. If the original dialogue became slow, or a moment too close

Foreground: Ian Ferrington as Claudius

to melodrama, Mitchell was there in time to expertly deliver one of Polonius’ wizened truisms. Ferrington as Claudius, one of English literature’s most notorious evil-step fathers, was devoid of criminality and almost sympathetic. West’s Gertrude was maternal but complicated. After the closet scene, where Gertrude watches her son murder a friend and learns that her current husband murdered her deceased husband, West maintains the complete devastation and bereavement of a woman left with nothing to believe in. Ash traversed all corners of the stage and palpably conveyed the mental instability and naivety that defines Hamlet. So much of Hamlet, after all, is Hamlet; he gets 36 per cent of the play’s lines. Ash, like several other members of the production noted, was able to be himself. “I took a long time not knowing what to do because the production was spaceless and timeless. I ended up playing him as he is in the text: as a petulant, smart, generous, but ultimately naïve uni student, basically myself ”. Or, in words of Morrow, “Ash is one of the few people I know capable of having enough thoughts to make the character compelling”. Sure, the play was rough around the edges; the staging was fairly static and its conception sometimes a little muddled and unfocused. Then there were a number of episodes that spoke to the inexperience of those involved. On the opening night Fortinbras appeared holding a script and visibly trembling – he apparently made a hasty exit afterwards. From then on Pemberton stepped in for Fortinbras, and then most of the second week for Jacinta Gregory as Barnardo after she twisted her ankle, and then also for Yitzi Tuvel as the priest after Tuvel came down with the flu. There were issues with campus sales and ticket collection at the Box Office, and Pemberton’s final

vision was in flux up until opening night. During bump in there were still changes being made to set and costume. But the production was Hamlet in a sustained and holistic way, something that would have impressed even Bob Carr if he had been invited. As Pemberton admitted after the run, “I went into Hamlet with such a grand vision that most people, and I, feared that it was no vision”. Regardless of how this Hamlet would stack up against the thousands that have come before it, what appeared on the Reginald’s stage was Hamlet. They sold out six of their nine performances; something that many professional shows in the same theatre struggle to do. “We did it”, Pemberton said. “It was cohesive. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t perfect, but I’m happy. The actors should be happy, everyone involved should be happy. We pulled it off, and that means something in itself, I mean we took on Hamlet after all”. In the aforementioned comment war Pemberton pointedly countered Carr’s assertion, “Would you have turned up tickets to see a [John] Barton/ [Ian] Mckellen/ [Trevor] Nunn Shakespeare at Cambridge in 1959? I think God would take greater offence at your arrogance, Mr. Carr”. Those are big names to drag into a discussion about amateur theatre, but Pemberton had a point back in 2011– everyone has to start somewhere. Regardless of what the future holds for those involved in SUDS’s Hamlet, at the end of the day, taking on Hamlet and its many intricacies was a brave thing to do for all involved – not just for Pemberton and not just for his principal actors.

Photography by Matthew R. Webb, matthewwebbstudio.com

Issue 07 31 THE TIME I TRIED...

THE TIME I TRIED... NOT APOLOGISING

Sydney University Law Society (photography Samuel Hoare)

BARBARA TAYLOR GAVE UP THE ‘S’ WORD AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.

clubs & societies Joining a professional development or course-related club is a great way to meet new people and develop networks within your field of study. It’s never too late to get involved! To find out more about our Clubs and Societies Program visit usu.edu.au today and get into the fun side of uni life.

The Clubs & Societies program is provided by the University of Sydney Union. Make sure you have a valid ACCESS Card to join.

Apologising is a verbal tic; the impulse to say ‘sorry’ before asking a question, or as the Canadians do, apologise when someone else steps on your (literal or figurative) feet. Maybe it’s a politeness thing, but I never thought it was a ‘me’ thing. Not that I’m rude, but I am kind of obnoxious. When I vowed to go a week without apologising, I didn’t worry about the fact that I’m a perpetually tardy fuck up with a narcissistic yearning to be universally liked. I thought, “Whatever, I’m pretty punk rock. Should be easy.” On the first day – the first day – I nearly apologise to a car that almost mows me down on City Road. And I automatically apologise to my friend for being late to our lecture. Then I swear a lot, and have to apologise again to the girl who sat in front of us. Day two is like a second take. I am predictably late to my 9am lecture. The door squeaks and opening it slowly only makes it worse. The professor stops talking, and

gives me an indulgent smile. I smile back in a way that could certainly be described as apologetic, but do not actually apologise. I feel bad about it for an hour. The next day, I am nervous and sweaty whenever I’m in class. It’s annoying and also gross. I spend a two-hour seminar in dead silence. There is just no way I can raise my hand without feeling sorry about it. I doodle pictures to prevent myself from talking out my ass, and leave the room as soon as I can, tripping over someone’s laptop bag. “I’m so–” I start, but instead of finishing the phrase I make a kind of teakettle noise and run out. By day four, I’m determined to get around this. There have got to be ways to communicate sincerely without saying you’re sorry. Interpretive dance? Smoke signals? Sign language? No, that would never work. I only know a few signs and one of them is “sorry”. You make a fist and draw circles on your chest, as if to say, “Here, take my heart, it spends all its time falling out my butt anyway, no please, I insist.”

The closest I can get is saying, “I hope you don’t mind…” instead of “I’m sorry for…” but it’s not universally applicable. Can you imagine? “I hope you don’t mind that I ran over your cat, puked on your grandmother’s grave, and cut in front of you in line at Coles.” That’s just no good. On day five, I have no classes, so I spend the whole day hanging out with my dog. I’m invited to a drinks thing, but I’m too stressed by the idea of being around people I can’t say sorry to. What if I drink too much, badly offend the wrong person, can’t apologise and start an international conflict? Not apologising is hard, and it sucks. There is a difference between not qualifying your speech and being straight up rude. I lied. I’m not hardcore. I’m not punk rock. I’m maybe soft grunge, at best. I groan, and my dog looks up at me, curious. He doesn’t understand English, so he doesn’t understand apologies. Whenever he looks at me, I want to tell him I’m sorry, even though I don’t know what for. Instead I simply say, “I know, I know.”

32 bull usu.edu.au FEATURE

Issue 07 33 FEATURE

It starts when we’re just curious children, asking our parents where babies come from, before eventually progressing to the first awkward fragments of sex-ed in the last years of primary school. By the time we reach high school, sex is on our minds more than ever, and we turn to friends, siblings and the Internet for answers. In our teenage years, we’re taught that sex is something special to be shared between two people in love – often married – and sometimes we believe the crap our parents spin. But then we graduate, go to uni, and discover that sex isn’t as sacred as we’ve been led to believe. At university, where hormones still rage and sex is splayed across the landscape of student life, the word casual enters our vocabulary in a completely new way. Casual sex. Who does it? What is it? Is it the new alternative to monogamy? According to the media, university is one big orgy, where students slink from one bed to another, and sexual partners are as transient as Campos coffees. Amanda Holman from the University of Montana recruited and interviewed 274 students to learn more about the culture of sex at universities. More than half reported having engaged in casual sex or ‘hook-ups’ over the course of the year, however they also found that there was more talk than action. “Students greatly overestimated the pervasiveness of hook-ups within the general student culture,” the study said, suggesting that casual sex is prevalent, but the hype surrounding its presence on campus is more moral panic than moral problem. “Alcohol is a huge player,” Holman told ABC News US. “If you become part of this hook-up culture, and you go to parties and you drink a lot and you’re not fully aware of it, you probably don’t have protection, and you are more likely to engage in risky behaviour.” And Holman believes that this perpetuating culture of sex among students will only lead to further risky behaviour, with a lack of personal commitment being potentially damaging. But when you step outside the media bubble, and actually talk to people who are living the student life, it seems this isn’t as prevalent a culture as many might think. “I don’t think casual sex is specifically isolated with students – I think it’s a common phenomena that happens in all age groups,” University of Sydney student Charlotte* said. “Casual sex is a part of modern dating and relationships.” But hindsight is a beautiful thing, and Charlotte didn’t always see casual sex as a lifestyle choice for over 30s. “I thought uni was the place that all casual sex happens,” Charlotte admits. “I definitely thought I’d have a ménage à trois in my first year.” “The media and movies definitely depict uni as a loose place where everyone is having an orgy and double penetrating each other, which is hilarious but I don’t think anyone really takes it as fact.” Casual sex is a prevalent practice of students, there’s no denying it. I myself have taken part in the odd one night stand, as well as sleeping with someone without the parameters of a relationship. But I’m also not decisively against monogamy, and it’s this middle ground where a lot of students find themselves. “For many it's a time to experiment and try out things and spend time with like-minded people,” Sydney University student Emma* said. “You get to play around a bit and figure out what you want and like.” But despite this culture of cavalier sexual lifestyles, there’s also an element of shame involved.

The public too often throws a blanket of disgrace over the student population for its promiscuous sexual behaviours, and students tend to feel ashamed of their sexual lifestyle choices. The fact that not a single interviewee in this article was bold enough to disclose their identity shows just how strong the air of taboo is, as it lingers like a fog over campuses, and follows us home on our walks of shame. There it is again, that word shame directly linked to the act of casual sex. How else are we meant to perceive this sexual student culture if we’re constantly perpetuating this notion of indignity? “The media projects blame on the student-aged population for increasing the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases, and people view these student activities in a negative light,” University of Sydney student Kate* said, expressing her irritation that students are the main age group shamed for their sexual choices. “It seems like such a hidden thing, and when it is brought to light people seem to look down on people who engage in sex.” Another Sydney University student Sam* insists that the public’s perception on casual sex shouldn’t be solely attributed to students. “I feel like casual sex is definitely a thing that happens at uni but it is definitely a thing that happens well after uni too and perhaps this latter incidence isn’t as spoken about or isn’t newsworthy,” Sam said. It’s a fair assumption that students have a lot of sex. We’re young, we’re experimental, and we’re at an age where relationships are not taken as seriously. Sure, this is a grand stereotype, but the shoe fits. University of NSW graduate Tony* supports this idea of sexual experimentation. “When you are younger, you are less likely to have ‘found the one’ and aren’t tied down to one person, so one would be more available to have multiple sexual encounters in a shorter amount of time,” he explains. With apps like Tinder and Grindr, casual sex is geared towards younger generations. Parties and events on campus are also hot spots for casual hook-ups, with many students using these parties to locate their next one night stand. “At any parties on campus there will be people engaging in sexual activities so that culture is prevalent,” Kate says. It seems the only things we can deduce from looking at casual sex on campus is that students have more opportunity, and less responsibility, making casual sex the perfect way to explore yourself sexually. Everyone experiences youth in different ways, and whether you’re engaging in casual sex or not, as long as you take care of yourself, it shouldn’t be anyone else’s place to judge. Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, Elements and Behavioural Health Robert Weiss wrote an article on whether casual sex was healthy. He too saw it as an independent lifestyle choice that depended on the person. “If casual sex doesn't violate your personal sense of integrity in terms of how you treat others, how you honour your commitments, and your individual moral code, then what you're doing is probably not going to cause you either short-term or long-term internal emotional distress,” Weiss said. Or, for a more student-friendly conclusion: “If you’re fucking, and happy and safe, then go for it,” Charlotte says. And when it comes to casual sex, isn’t that really all we’re looking for?

“I don’t think casual sex is specifically isolated with students – I think it’s a common phenomena that happens in all age groups.”

Hannah Edensor looks at ‘hook-up’ culture and why we shouldn’t feel ashamed about it.

* Names have been changed

Issue 07 35 CAMPUS FASHION

CAMPUS FASHION SWEATER WEATHER

Friday 24 October

MAY YANG // Law/International and Global Studies II

Natalie Simpson // Applied Science (Occupational Therapy) I

Jumper: Kenzo SKIRT: StyleNanda FLATS: Myer

JUMPER: Dotti SHIRT: Princess Highway JEANS: Topshop BOOTS: Wanted

Who’s your style icon and why? Olivia Palermo definitely. She has a way of making street fashion work with couture pieces and her outfits are always so creative! Another would be Mira Duma. I would be ecstatic if I could have access to her wardrobe.

7pm – midnight The Refectory, Holme Building

What inspired this look today? It’s one of those casual dress uni outfits I can rely on to look decent.

Official after party hosted by SHADES At a secret location to be revealed on the night

Ultimate girl crush? Behati Prinsloo. The girl can make jeans and a t-shirt look hot. Most hated style trend that you’ve spotted this winter? Probably too much pattern on pattern. I reckon an outfit only needs one statement piece, not to be completely comprised of it.

ACCESS $40 | General Admission $50

Who’s your style icon and why? I personally like Gabrielle Aplin. She’s quite small, so I really like how she knows what clothes compliment her. She dresses simply but at the same time, she chooses nice patterns or collars that make the outfit stand out. She tends to wear a lot of shorts and cute dresses too. What inspired this look today? It’s been raining all day so the boots were a given. I really like floral shirts so thought I’d wear some sort of pattern to uni.

Christine Freak // Arts I Scarf: Cotton On Top: Cotton On Skirt: Dotti BOOTS: Markets How would you describe your style? I would say it’s pretty edgy and contemporary. What inspired this look today? I wanted something that was sophisticated and casual at the same time, but something comfortable too. Ultimate girl crush? Taylor Swift. What style trend do you dislike? When people wear things that aren’t weather appropriate and struggle!

Ultimate girl crush? Meghan Markle (she plays Rachel in Suits). She’s absolutely gorgeous and can pull anything off. Most hated style trend you’ve spotted this winter? Fur ugg boots with sequins.

Tickets available at the ACCESS Desk and online

#UNSURE:

/USUAccess

@USUAccess

/USUonline

usu.edu.au

Spotted: pool slides and crew socks are coming back in a big way, but we’re just not sure how to feel about these. Mark Zuckerberg may have rocked them in his college days and thought

they were cool, but we don’t think that counts for much. Pool slides are risky enough on their own; crew socks nearly make them dangerous. Comfortable they may be, stylish they’re not.

We nearly drew the line at Birkenstocks so these might just need to go ahead and slide right out of everyone’s wardrobes ASAP.

By Emily Shen, Katie Stow, Rebecca Karpin

36 bull usu.edu.au CLASSIC COUNTDOWN & VOX POPS

Issue 07 37 COW & HORNS

HAVE A COW Political Gaffes and Embarrassments of 2014

VOX pops

Australian federal politics has been a depressing but altogether gloriously entertaining snafu. we’ve run back through our memory banks to commemorate and lament the year thus far.

Muir: Rookie Errors

It was hard not to feel bad for rookie Senator Ricky Muir as he struggled to define ‘balance of power’ and ‘aftermarket’ in an interview on Channel 7’s Sunday Night, with even the stern-faced Mike Willesee backing off the ‘everyday Australian’ politician during this cringe-worthy nationally televised moment.

Brandis: Metadata Megafail

While Ricky Muir’s interview fumbles can be chalked up to inexperience, the same can’t be said for AttorneyGeneral George Brandis, whose chat with Sky News’ David Spears about what information would be recorded under proposed data retention laws closely resembled a Clarke and Dawe sketch.

MacDonald feat. Ludlam: See My Vest, See My Vest

Former BULL Editor and current Assistant Editor of Junkee Alex McKinnon hit the nail on the head when he labelled Liberal Senator Ian MacDonald “a bit of a dickhead” for waltzing into the Senate sporting a high-vis vest in support of the repeal of the mining tax. Fortunately our resident West-coast reppin’ Adam Scott-lookalike, Senator Scott Ludlam, was on hand to lay the smack-down with a small sign that read ‘SRSLY!’ In Ludlam we trust.

Palmer: Goin’ HAM on China

Clive Palmer has been not-so-deftly stroking the media and establishing himself as the eccentric voice of opposition and, at least in comparison to the Liberal Party, occasionally the surprising voice of reason. But he firmly cemented himself as the “drunk uncle” of Australian politics when he launched into an ill-advised and inflammatory tirade against our nation’s biggest trading partner on ABC’s Q&A. Good one, old mate.

Hockey: Out of Touch, Out of Time

We can only assume Joe Hockey is living under the assumption that, “poor people don’t have the right to vote, or actually don’t vote very much.”

Sam De Ferranti// Arts IV (Hons) Honours Topic: It’s going to end up something like: ‘Radical Immigrants and the IWW in Duluth Minnesota, 1870-1940’. Reading: Many local newspaper articles from August 1913. Watching: The Wire, S2. Listening: Irish folksinger and IWW hero Andy Irvine.

Lucy Watson // Arts VI (MECO) Honours Topic: Celebrity news and what Miley Cyrus has to do to make headlines in gossip mags. Listening to: Madonna and Beyoncé but deep house when I’m writing. Reading: Gossip mag articles featuring Miley Cyrus. Watching: The VMAs.

Ellen Riley // Arts IV (Hons) Honours Topic: The Moral Philosophy of Int. Law. Listening to: The audio recordings from my meetings with my supervisor and Jack White’s Lazaretto. Reading: Larry May’s International Criminal Law and Philosophy, ‘Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law’ by Mark Drumbl, and Roald Dahl’s The Twits. Watching: Justice Talks with Raimond Gaita.

Confessions of a Crabby Commuter By Lucinda Starr Confined spaces aren’t exactly my idea of a good time. The thought of being forced to spend hours trapped, squeezed between masses of unfamiliar bodies is cause for me to hit the panic button. There is something utterly terrifying about being unable to escape a situation; the powerlessness of confinement sends the blood rushing from my cheeks. As someone who spends 12-plus hours a week perched uncomfortably on the seats of the ever-reliable SydneyTrains network,

I feel I’ve got something to say. There is an unwritten code of etiquette when commuting. From obeying the sacred cone of silence that is the ‘quiet carriage’ to not devouring all fishy, slurpy and generally horrifically messy meals whilst in transit; regular travellers know the dos-and-don’ts. I have three general rules (read: commandments) that are essential to respect when in the claustrophobic confines of the good ol' trains. One, headphones are for your ears only (no one is too keen on hearing your circa 2004 classic hits playlist blaring across the carriage). Two, if you’re battling a horrific cold/flu/case of the bubonic

plague, come prepared (tissues should be mandatory). Three, personal space is crucial (enough said). Abide by their rules and you’ll be fine. Don’t be that person who upon sitting down, raises her leg, yawns off her shoes and socks, pulls out the nail clippers and does the unthinkable. I hope you’re cringing because people like this exist, and they damage my very being. I like to think of myself as a tolerant person. But give me an hour in a stuffy, overpopulated chamber of unsavory sounds and smells, and things are bound to get ugly.

Dom Ellis wishes his adolescence was like The O.C.

Alex Downie prefers the preppy Upper East Side of Gossip Girl

I’m locking horns with an infant calf, still blissfully unaware of the world away from her mother’s teat. How is this even an argument? The O.C. was a game changer. It taught us how to love; it taught us how to leave; it even taught us how to smoke weed. Look, I’m the first to admit that season three was awful, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to lay down and let your urban ‘bourgeoy’ crap steal the spotlight. Where to start with a show as stimulating and multi-faceted as The O.C.? Well there’s the cast for one. Ryan was a dreamboat, Seth was the first hipster, Summer showed us how to change, and Marissa – well Marissa died. For teenagers all across the world, The O.C. was the point when we realised that rich people problems may be trite, but that doesn’t mean they’re not entertaining. We were those brooding, working class teenagers thrown into a world of beachside murder and melodrama. Putting the charming cast and meaningful stories aside, The O.C. also had a fucking killer soundtrack. It introduced Death Cab to the world and it iconised Imogen Heap. What was Gossip Girl doing in that time? “Oh here you go littleknown singer-songwriter Lady Gaga, here’s an episode to yourself ”. Look. I’m not going to sit here and tell you you’re wrong. But you are, Alex, you are. So go home, open up The Pirate Bay and get cracking on Season One, because to be making this argument you’re either astoundingly naïve or your memory is fading.

Gossip Girl may not have been Josh Schwartz’s first show about a group of impossibly beautiful, wealthy, and melodramatic American teens. But it was his best. My love of Gossip Girl stems in large part from the awesomeness that was Blair Waldorf, Manhattan’s ‘Queen B’ during the show’s sixyear run. Blair was the villain everyone rooted for, a girl who realised that although ‘you can’t make people love you, you can make them fear you’. Blair wasn’t afraid to speak the truth – her reminder that ‘tights are not pants’ resonated beyond the TV screen, saving many of my Supré clad peers from further embarrassment. And Blair’s love/hate relationship with Chuck Bass was a match between equals which quickly (and deservingly) became the heart of the show. The ‘dumb blonde’ character on Gossip Girl (Serena) was also dramatically better than her equivalent on The O.C. (Marissa). I would rather have my teeth pulled, without anesthetic, by a dentist using an infected wrench, than spend time with Marissa Cooper, because at least then I’d feel something. Marissa Cooper had the personality and intellect of an underfed Alan Jones, and the backbone of an underfed slug. And the only thing worse than The O.C. with Marissa was The O.C. after the writers killed her off. There was an entire 40-minute episode where Ryan and Taylor both fell into comas and were transported to a parallel universe. Dom, I want those 40 minutes of my life back.

LOCKING HORNS THE O.C. VS. GOSSIP GIRL

Issue 07 39 ARTS

ARTS BLACK MILK

POP CULTURE PRINTS FOR WOMEN

BERNADETTE ANVIA With the company motto “Give me nylon or give me death,” Black Milk has come to amass a huge following through its use of untraditional fabrics and its production of apparel that pay homage to popular cultural icons, like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. The story behind the establishment of Black Milk Clothing is nothing short of inspirational. Founded in Brisbane in 2009 by James Lillis, Black Milk has evolved from a one-man blog into a global company operating three sites in Brisbane, one site in Los Angeles, and a team of over 150 workers helping to ship Black Milk clothing to women all over the world. As Lillis details on the company’s Facebook page, the road to his successful entrepreneurial adventure wasn’t easy. “Several years ago, I was broke, bored and rather cold. After buying a second-hand sewing machine, I only had six bucks in my pocket, which meant that I had to get the cheapest fabric they had – nylon lining.” Now, five years later, Lillis can be credited with the establishment of a clothing

company that has helped revolutionise the fashion industry and change perceptions of pop culture clothing. Gone are the days where nylon and Lycra were used merely for swimsuits or gym clothes. Thanks to companies like Black Milk, pop culture clothing has now become sexy, fashionable and most importantly, can be worn by women who also have fandom interests. According to Alex Caton, a Black Milk representative, “There are often not a lot of options out there for women when it comes to pop-culture apparel, so it’s very cool to be able to fill that gap for people and really enjoy their excitement about it.” Over the last few years, Black Milk has released a number of collections catering to fandom interests. One of the biggest markers of the company’s success has been its ability to procure licenses for a number of pop culture icons including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Adventure Time and Disney. But what does Black Milk think its success can be attributed to? According to Caton, it’s all about authenticity. “We’re not trying to do or be anything in particular,” Caton tells me. “We’re just being ourselves, making clothes

we like, and trying our best to make sure everyone we interact with has a good time.” Indeed, it is this focus on ‘a good time’ that has Black Milk resembling a family far more than it does a company. Black Milk devotees – known as ‘Sharkies’ – are able to directly communicate with each other through Black Milk discussion groups. ‘Sharkies’ from all over the world are also actively encouraged to post pictures of their outfits to the company’s various social media websites “It’s not really our goal to be on the front of every major fashion magazine – it’s heaps of fun when it happens, but we mostly just get a kick out of seeing our gear being rocked by everyday people from all walks of life. That’s why we love it when people send in their selfies,” says Caton. The global distribution of Black Milk Clothing has stretched and grown much like the company’s trademark fabric: the company is hopeful they will one day be able to open distribution centres in the UK and Europe. “We’re working on world domination,” jokes Caton. Women dominating the world wearing pop culture clothing? Sounds good to me.

40 bull usu.edu.au REVIEWS

Issue 07 41 EXPERIENCE

EXPERIENCE

REVIEWS

CRAFT BEER FIGHT CLUB

PLAY: KIM KARDASHIAN: HOLLYWOOD Glu Games Inc. I played the new Kim Kardashian game so you wouldn’t have to. Yep – Kim has expanded into apps. And of course it’s really successful. Within the first five days of its release, it earned more than $1.6 million and is still sitting pretty in the Top 10 iTunes downloads. You begin the game as an E-list celebrity. Kim then takes you under her wing and you become a sort of ‘famous-person-in-training’. The main goal is to keep her happy and through doing so, rise up the ranks and to eventually become an A-lister. To do this you’re given various tasks. At a dinner date I was told to ‘Exchange Romantic Glances’ and ‘Flirt’. Sometimes Kim lets you model her swimwear collection. But you’re always at risk of running out of ‘energy’ – which is visualised as little lightening bolts (a metaphor for what substance exactly, we wonder…). It’s definitely boring, and a really bad game. But it’s also sort of genius. It’s just so monotonous and so very shallow that it almost feels ironic. Everyone’s ‘Celebrity Status’ is written in a bubble over their head so you know exactly how cool they are at every moment. The ‘K-Stars’ and ‘Dollars’ you earn in the game fall to the floor, so there is a suitably wretched image of your avatar groveling around on the ground to pick up their rewards for playing. Superficial sure. But with a sense of humour.

JOANNA CONNOLLY

WATCH: Sailor Moon Crystal Naoko Takeuchi

SEE: Motion/Emotion Annette Messager

The remake of the classic show, Sailor Moon Crystal barely meets my already low expectations, and the new animation that is being touted as HQ immediately makes me cringe. The triflingly named pilot, ‘USAGI’, is for 23 out of 24 minutes a voiceover introduction of the main characters with the remaining minute being her transformation. But even these character narratives have flaws. Tuxedo Mask, for example, seems to never wash his tuxedo, literally wearing the same outfit when he’s shopping on a Sunday and when he’s smashing the Negaverse. And of all the places to scout for the Legendary Silver Crystal, he chooses an irrelevant corner jewel store. Usagi’s characterisation remains constant in two parts whiny and two parts clumsy, which makes me feel like I’ve touched familiar ground. The subtitles for Sailor Moon’s main spell “Moon Tiara Boomerang!” seem too culturally appropriated that I suspect it must change from country to country. The most damaging aspect of this series is the significant and unnerving age gap between an adult Tuxedo Mask and the underage, 14-year-old Usagi – a relationship that previously had the seven-yearold me at the edge of my seat. The creators of Sailor Moon Crystal are as heinous as the ABC executive that decided to animate Bananas in Pajamas. It’s only my repressed fondness of the original that keeps my rating of this nightmarish rendition afloat.

Using a collection of found objects and ordinary household materials such as string, rags, newspaper cuttings and old clothes, Messager’s work imagines a nightmarish fantasy world caught somewhere between the innocence of childhood and the menace of a sinister adult existence. Spanning 40 years of her career, this exhibition was about ageing. Heart & Soul (2009), a large installation that literally inflates and deflates like a dying life-form, seems to reflect a fear of human mortality. This is similar to that of Untitled (2011-2012), a fascinating miniature cityscape that fills an entire gallery room like a dark, postapocalyptic mass, watched over by a ticking clock on the wall opposite. Earlier works from the 1970s such as Voluntary Tortures (1970) and My Collection of Proverbs (1976) engage with the feminist period, whilst the carcasses made from unstitched baby outfits in Skins (1997) seem to bespeak fears surrounding maternity and fertility that may have preoccupied a 54-year-old Messager. Yet what remains central to Messager’s oeuvre is the playful, childlike wit that adds humour to even her most sinister works, and engages young and old audiences alike. This combination makes for an exhibition that is simultaneously chilling and yet entertaining, but above all, unmissable.

LISA XIA

MCA, 24 July – 26 October 2014. Free admission.

GEORGIA GRAHAM

SEE: Les Misérables – Her Majesty’s Theatre Melbourne Cameron Mackintosh Les Misérables, the film, was quite poorly made. It had all the old favourites and a few half-decent scenes, but it was ugly and brash and poorly shot. Les Misérables, at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne, is a whole different ball game. Sure, it’s produced by the same dude and it’s stylistically similar, but it also just generally feels more authentic. I guess that’s quite inherent in the medium that we feel more personally engaged, but it’s also a credit to a strong cast and an all-round polished performance. It’s hard to fault any of the main cast, but Kerrie Anne Greenland, who plays the neglected romantic Éponine is particularly compelling. The set and production are also solid. Though having said that, (spoiler?) the way Javert’s death is handled is borderline absurd, and although it’s a two minute scene in a three hour musical, it really managed to drop the energy in what is otherwise an engaging second half. Certain elements of Les Misérables are polarising and understandably so: if you’re not into three hours of unrelenting balladry then you needn’t bother. However, if you’re into that sorta thing and you don’t mind a few heavy-handed religious/revolutionary themes, then the Sydney production of Les Misérables due to hit the Capitol theatre next March, will be your cup of tea.

DOMINIC ELLIS

Rustling up the usual crew of beer loving miscreants for the Craft Beer Fight Club was no challenge, with the event promising an alternative to the cheap run of the mill swill we’ve unfortunately grown accustomed to when on the lash in our student years. Sure enough, the event delivered on its promise. But before you read any further I think it’s only fair that I offer some words of warning: once you go boutique, it can be mighty difficult to go back. Held at the Dove and Olive in Surry Hills this monthly gathering pits two local microbrewers against each other in an epic battle for the coveted ‘Beer of the Month’ title and tap entitlement, and of course bragging rights amongst the Sydney beer nerd community. When the crew and I arrived at the venue we headed upstairs and took a seat in the already crowded beer lounge. Despite a penchant for dark wood and decadent furnishings, the space is surprisingly relaxed. It holds all the charm you’d expect from a Surry Hills haunt albeit without the usual pretentious punters and the ubiquitous bitchy-resting-face tap pullers. Not wanting to get white-girl-wasted, we decided it was best to take a look at the food menu before the drinking got under way, and although the foodie of the group was quick to tell us that the offerings paled in comparison to some of the other fare in and around Surry Hills, the rest of us all enjoyed our rustic meals. The generous portion sizes were befitting of the pub setting, and if you’re on a budget, you can’t go past the Wednesday night $9 steak deal. Shortly after our food arrived, the bearded emcee Wombat and his beer sommelier side-kick Grub, brewed up a bit of beer related banter to kick the night off before handing the mics over to the night’s showcased brewers, The Australian Brewery and the Riverside Brewing Company, who spruiked their four competing concoctions (two from each brewer) as they were carted out over the course of the next two hours. Taking cues from pub trivia nights there are a couple of humorous titbits to keep guests interested, including a beer label drawing competition, and minute monologue where Grub does his best to answer one beer-related question from the audience. If you’re looking to have a drunken deep and meaningful this is definitely not the time nor the place. Towards the end of the night the alcohol-fuelled raucousness can make it difficult to hear your mates, but if you’re looking for quality craft beers in a fantastic space, look no further.

Rob North

Bell Shakeseare’s Tartuffe: A funny blend of religious satire and family comedy. Well adapted play. Unfortunately lacking at the end.

The Block Glasshouse: If you are watching this and under the age of 30, you should start watching something else.

The Babadook: The new Australian film is absolutely terrifying. You won’t be able to sleep for at least 2 nights afterwards.

The Bachelor Australia: Embarrassing if you watch this #shame.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: It’s exactly like Transformers but with turtles instead.

MTV Video Music Awards: 17 solid minutes of Beyonce #brilliance.

Guardians of the Galaxy: The super tacky version of The Avengers. Avoid at all costs.

42 bull usu.edu.au CLUB CONFIDENTIAL

Issue 07 43 CLUB CONFIDENTIAL

CLUB CONFIDENTIAL DODGY SWEATER PARTY

My mother always told me not to pull faces in case the wind changed. I should have listened...

Manning Bar // 13 August 2014 Move over UNSW. Nice try Macquarie (as if there was any competition). Manning is taking over the title as the host of the biggest and best university parties in Sydney. This title was solidified at Manning’s latest offering the ‘Dodgy Sweater Party’ on August 13. Kicking off from 7pm, students celebrated the start of semester two with some of the dodgiest jumpers known to man. I personally donned a navy turtleneck – an ensemble that really shouldn’t see the light of day. Roaming around the venue, there were plenty of old Christmas jumpers, some awful geometric patterns in fecal greens and browns, as well as a few rogue fluffy numbers. The night started out with an amazing band, Sons of Mercury, while partygoers chatted away over beers and amped up with a DJ as the dance floor packed out. Despite the super dodgy outfits, it was evident that attendees could still be attracted to their fellow partiers even when they were wearing that disgusting grey number they’d pulled out from a box of clothes they used to wear in primary school. The only downside to the night was that the bar was so full that it took a good five to six minutes to get my vodka raspberry (no shame) and the line to the photobooth was long enough to prevent my full range of ‘derp’ faces from being recorded. But on the whole, the night was not-to-be-missed and I woke up the next day having to apologise to numerous new friends I had decided to add after they had asked me the direction to the toilet (#networking). Sorry UTS, I’m sure your parties will be as good as ours one day.

Alisha Aitken-Radburn Look deep into my eyes.

Do the Creep.

Ghosthunting Society’s First TriAnnual Ghost Hunt

Camperdown Cemetery // 7 August 2014

#2spooky4me

I fell in love with your sweater, then I fell in love with you.

“Look I’m psychic!”

You voted for us...

You remembered to wear that sweater right.

The only weapon Luke needs is swag.

They’re called safety goggles for a reason Maybe there is such a thing as too keen

I’ve watched enough of Lawrence Leung’s TV series Unbelievable to know what it takes to catch a ghost. You need the right equipment – I’m talking Ouija boards, EMF meters, and EVP recorders at bare minimum. You’ve got to have the right attitude, a little bit of luck and a whole lot of courage. Unfortunately for the innocent group of 20, we had none of these things. It was an unlikely bunch. From the fresh grins of second years, to the jovial banter of the exec, and the cautious glares of hardcore believers, we were a horror movie waiting to happen on this cool, still night. Shivering, I turned to Nicolas, Vice President Ghost Hunter and whispered, “Do you believe in ghosts?” He blinked and stared far off into the distance. “When I was a kid I would always lose my Lego pieces. And I am not a clumsy person.” Lost for words at the realisation that I too always lost my Lego pieces, the Camperdown Cemetery came into view, and Luke, the society’s Secretary, delivered our briefing. According to legend (or Wikipedia), the ghost of Hannah Watson, wife of Watsons Bay founder Captain Thomas Watson, has been spotted drifting between her own grave and that of her suspected lover John Steane in the very same cemetery that stood before us. Logically, we did the only thing to be done on a ghost hunt like this: split up. Using the foolproof buddy system and a code phrase for when things turned sour, the team set out, armed only with their iPhone torches. Immediately, I came across a curiosity by a tombstone. I was certain I felt a presence so I pulled out my camera to snap some proof. Strangely, the image came up blank. Turning the flash on, I retook the photo. Though it blinked in a blinding flash, again the image was blank. I called everyone over with the code sentence and demonstrated the strange phenomenon. Everyone was spooked – I was sure it was Hannah Watson’s doing. But then… “Wait…is the lens cap still on?” Someone always has to go and ruin the fun. Now, I’m not going to entirely rule out the possibility that ghosts exist but, I’m pretty certain the only haunted soul you’re bound to encounter in the Camperdown cemetery is a hipster conducting a drug deal.

Erin Rooney

44 bull usu.edu.au SHUTTER UP

Issue 07 45 COMICS

SHUTTER UP Bicycle

COMICS SEND YOURS TO US AT EDITORS @ bullmag.com.AU

Photographer: Theodora Yip Camera: Nikon D60 Focal length: 18-200mm Shutter: 1/800 Aperture: f7.8 ISO: 1600

BY John El-Khoury

BY MARIA MELLOS

snap!

Send us your unique, arty or just plain cool (as in, not another quad shot) campus snap to editors@bullmag.com.au We’ll publish our fave each edition in full page glory. High-res, 300dpi jpegs only – portrait orientation.

46 bull usu.edu.au ASK ISABELLA

Big rent saving Only 30 mins by train

ASK ISABELLA WEEK EIGHT CRUNCH Dear Isabella, Niece of Aunty Irene Lover of Daddy Mack Mother of three and to all those who need advice I am woman, hear me roar

Why am I always lulled into a false sense of security during the first half of semester? Week 8 comes along and then, BAM, I’m drowning. I miss my girlfriend, my friends, my life – what can I do to regain the balance? ~ Rich Dear Rich, That’s quite a pickle you’re in, but one that many of your little leftovers-for-lunch friends are in as well so my sympathy is, well, non-existent. However, I am pond trained and fully respect the need for balance – teetering and tottering one way or another will do you no good. Keep your beady little eyes fixated on one point of the pond surface and slowly look up. You might surprise yourself dear Richy-Rich! ~ Bella xxx

BAKER’S DELIGHT Dear Isabella, The new bakery just opposite my work makes amazing bread. As much as I love the bread, I am failing to connect with my baker. Do I need to change bakers or is this relationship salvageable? ~Fay

An exciting new option for Sydney Uni students

Iglu Chatswood

things going (there’s a free, all-purpose life lesson for you!). Show your commitment to this yeasty affair and give your baker a symbol of friendship that’s better than bread puns. Be creative!

fully furnished

~Bella xxx

private en-suites

VASES Dear Isabella,

safe and secure

I’m moving out of home this weekend and I’m doing a bit of homeware scouting except I can’t decide whether I want an elegant tall vase or this cute little short vase I saw one time for the kitchen table. Thoughts?

wireless internet

~ Jackie Dear Jackie, You have come to the right animal advice column. If you don’t get the tall slim vase now, you will regret this decision for the rest of your life. I know you humans like the quirky, “cute” ones, but take it from Isabella, you can’t trust them! They will leave you with five hatchlings and not a feather on your back to make ends meet. Exhibit A) poor Colin, he’s gone and run off with ‘The Rabbit’ from Issue 5, the slimy little rat! Short vases never did him a bit of good.

UNLIMITED internet package now available

~Bella xxx

Dear Fay, True, a good relationship with your baker is intrinsic to digestive happiness. Most bread-givers I know are always a little subdued but all it takes is a strum of the vocal chords and a friendly peck to get

Win tickets & the book Before I Go To Sleep In cinemas October 16 In this psychological thriller, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, a woman must piece together her past after a terrible accident has left her with no memory of her life. Based on the best-selling book, this chilling story comes to cinemas October 16. To enter: email your name, contact details and ACCESS number to h.awick@usu.edu.au.

iglu.com.au

The No Regrets Saver Your complete banking package for under 35s

Absolutely No Account Keeping Fees No Establishment Fees for loans until youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 35 Apply online and bank anywhere, anytime Plus receive a $20 iTunes card for opening the account*

Join Today! Call 13 13 61 Visit noregretssaver.com.au

* Welcome gift will be received 90 days from when Encompass membership is open(only applies for new members, excludes existing Encompass Members) Offer subject to change at any time without notice. Please read our Terms & Conditions and Fees & Charges brochures available at any branch, www.encompasscu.com.au or by calling 13 13 61 before choosing the product that is right for you. Encompass Credit Union Limited. ABN 43 087 650 011 AFSL and Australian credit licence number 238426. Registered office: 59 Buckingham Street Surry Hills NSW 2010.