Comments Off on To Pee or Not to Pee? – That is the Question
Those of us living at college all know what it’s like to open a shower door, unsuspectingly, and to be hit by the strong stench of piss leading us to quickly shut the door and move onto the next stall. After testing a few, we eventually find one that doesn’t reek and turn the shower on to enjoy the warm water trickling down our skin only then to notice the yellow-tinged bottoms of the shower curtains…
We learnt quickly that you never enter a shower without thongs. Never.
I’m sure most of us have also been halfway through a shower, had the annoying realization that we’d had too much tea or alcohol beforehand and been faced with the decision – to pee or not to pee? We either rapidly wash or if we can’t hold on, we’re faced with two options. One, grab a towel and run half naked through the hallways to the bathrooms dripping wet, quickly pee, wipe, flush, and run back to the shower. Two, pee in the shower.
Ok as someone who dislikes the stink of pee in shower stalls, hear me out about why peeing in the shower is actually not that bad. Firstly, there are a whole bunch of other bodily fluids that end up in showers. It’s actually impossible not to have period blood in showers when you are on your period. You need to clean!! Ask me any day, I’d much rather step barefoot in someone’s piss than someone’s period blood. Wouldn’t you?
Secondly, peeing in the shower is better for the environment. You save a flush, the energy used to heat up the water when you realize halfway through having a shower that you need to pee, you pop out to the toilet and pop back. For those who wipe when they pee you also save toilet paper. If anything, we should be encouraging people to pee in the shower more regularly – it all goes to the same place anyway!
Now, if you’re going to pee, you have to do it properly. No one wants to be hit by the stench of piss at the end (or start, or middle) of their day. Shower-peers, here’s my advice to you:
Aim is important. Over the drain. If you miss, guess what? There’s a handy hose already flowing for you to rinse it down with. Switch to the jet setting if necessary. In no circumstances should the pee ever reach the curtains. I mean ever.
Pee early in the shower. This one’s for you and others – you don’t want to wash yourself then pee and walk out of a shower smelling like pee. If you pee early, it also means that you can wash it all down and cover up the smell which leads me to my next point.
Buy some really nice smelling shampoos, conditioners, body washes and use them ! Can recommend all things coconut smelling. Use them reasonably quickly after peeing. The stronger smelling the products, the better.
Drink more water! The more hydrated you are, the less your pee smells.
Take the above precautions and shower peeing is harmless, maybe even a good thing. Shower poops on the other hand – never, I mean never, ok.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Comments Off on Greenwashing Our Drowning Futures: A Call to Action from the South to the North
We are not facing a climate crisis that is imminent in the distant future. But we are in the middle of a climate catastrophe as we speak. While here in Australia, much as in the rest of the Global North, we convene in siloed conferences and policy forums; discuss climate resilience and mitigation in hallowed halls and ivory towers; deliberate on what the future may hold in a still distant 2050 – a future with a projected global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius – for millions of people across the world, 2050 is already upon them.
One-third of Pakistan has been submerged in the recent catastrophic floods. Between June to August this year, Pakistan’s southernmost provinces faced a 400 percent increase in their average monsoon rainfall. In addition to this, Pakistan is home to 7200 glaciers, the largest number in the world outside of the polar regions. Rising temperatures due to global warming are accelerating the Himalayan glacial melt in Pakistan at a much faster rate than previously anticipated by scientists.
Just in the recent catastrophe alone, 33 million lives were affected – more than the total population of Australia. This includes 16 million children, and 650,000 pregnant women without access to proper health services, with much of the infrastructure devastated. Four million acres of farmland has been destroyed, causing an acute crisis of food insecurity, and large swathes of the country are still underwater. While it has been estimated that the waters will take six more months to recede, the flood-ravaged lands are becoming breeding grounds for water-borne diseases – cholera, malaria, dengue – while experts warn the coming of a “second wave of death and destruction.”
Pakistan merits our attention for the sheer injustice of its people facing the worst brunt of climate catastrophe, while the country’s global share of carbon emissions is only less than 1 percent. An injustice that is compounded by a severe debt burden of $130 billion and crippling International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionalities, including taxes on oil and electricity, at a time of an unprecedented disaster. Or the entrenched effects of colonial and imperial entanglements that relegate the country to a ‘no man’s land’ – whose worth is dictated merely by imperial interests and ‘strategic’ relevance to the Global North; and whose calls for immediate debt relief, as demanded by the Pakistani activist community, are drowned out by racialised tropes of ‘violence’ and ‘danger’. But Pakistan is also a glimpse into our collective future – a symbolic front for our advocacy as a country that is already ‘ground zero’ for the climate catastrophe and exhibiting the impact of the dreaded mark of 1.5 degree Celsius.
In this context, we are fast approaching the 27th Annual UN Climate Change Conference of Parties, or COP27. Previous conferences settled upon emissions reduction agreements as outlined in the Kyoto protocols or the Paris Agreement. Not only have these agreements been inadequate but they have also allowed governments to perpetuate climate vandalism through an ostensible facade of seeking climate solutions. Greta Thunberg called last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow more of the same “blah blah blah”. She called for protests around the conference to reject the same old greenwashing, saying that “our hopes and ambitions drown in their empty promises.” The nature of the current climate catastrophes, if anything, expose the hollowness of such initiatives. Even if governments fully adhered to their emissions reductions as agreed upon in the Paris Agreement, the world would still reach apocalyptic levels of climate catastrophe everywhere in the coming decades. A worsening of the disastrous effects is already being felt.
The upcoming conference is set to be held in Egypt this year, even as Egyptian climate activists are protesting this charade of greenwashing and demanding more. The Sisi dictatorship has enforced draconian laws to limit access to information, including their country’s net carbon emissions and is continuing to warehouse hundreds of political prisoners in state prison cells. Recently, Alaa Abd El-Fattah, a high-profile democracy activist on a hunger strike, wrote a letter “about global warming because of the news from Pakistan” and raised concerns about the impending climate catastrophe that will reach us all. Highlighting the 33 million lives affected by the floods in Pakistan, he questioned the (in)adequacy of state responses as global warming continues. This letter, too, has been suppressed by the Egyptian authorities. Other democracy activists in Egypt have also called on climate activists around the world to not allow the Egyptian government to greenwash the dictatorship through the upcoming COP conference.
In Australia, we have a particular responsibility to answer these calls of solidarity from Egypt and Pakistan. Australia is one of the largest contributors to global fossil fuel emissions per capita, particularly from coal export emissions. These emissions are conveniently not counted in the Australian Labor Party’s latest climate bill. Such creative elisions and the absence of any enforceable targets have allowed the Labor party to plan a significant escalation of fossil fuel emission exports, by greenlighting the opening up of 106 new coal and gas projects whilst posturing to address the issue of emission reductions.
There is no lack of academic seminars on the impending climate crisis at the ANU. But beyond these siloed academic engagements, it is pertinent to ask where the university – as an institution – stands on climate change. It is imperative to move from knowledge production to action. The ANU itself has been the subject of a nearly decade-long divestment campaign. Students have overwhelmingly called for full divestment from fossil fuels in two referendums run by the student union ANUSA, first in 2014 and then again last year. The most recent data available to students indicates that our university still has large-scale investments in fossil fuel companies. There is also a shroud of opacity on the specificities of their investments. Without a clear breakdown of companies that ANU invests in, such as what they provided in 2016, we can’t be sure if ANU still invests in companies like Woodside Petroleum or big banks that finance coal projects as they did in that year. What we do know is that ANU’s infrastructure portfolio, which includes millions of dollars invested in the Kwinana gas-fired power station, actually increased its total carbon emissions by almost 23 percent last year. There are no enforceable targets in ANU’s investment portfolio as part of its ‘Below Zero’ campaign and its reports rely heavily on the discredited ESG exposure scores to demonstrate how environmentally sustainable they are.
That is why we have organised a speak-out for climate justice this Friday, the 28th of November to maintain the pressure. We cannot allow for the green-washing and climate vandalism carried out in our name. Or turn the demands for climate justice and debt relief from the Global South into “feel good” opportunities for the Global North to give paltry sums in “charity.” Despite the platitudes offered by elite institutions and state actors (be it ANU’s Socially Responsible Investment reporting, the Australian Labor Party, or those convening COP27) to set out tentative and non-enforceable targets, we are witnessing an unchecked expansion of fossil fuel extraction. Meanwhile millions of lives are already in the throes of disaster, their homes washed away, their farmlands and infrastructure devastated, with no return to normalcy in sight. This is only just the beginning. It is no longer tenable to discuss the climate crisis in terms of a projected future – when this future is already upon us.
Heba is a Pakistani student at ANU and Nick is a member of Socialist Alternative.
This article was written on the stolen land of the Ngunawal, Ngunnawal and Ngambri people. We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty has not been ceded. There is no climate justice without Indigenous justice.
Comments Off on Friday Night Party: What just happened?
Campus is finally back at full post-COVID pace! Now that some of Australia’s freshest acts have played and the stage is quickly being packed down, the last big event of the ANUSA calendar is behind us. So for everyone looking to reminisce on the day and the people across campus left listening to the second-hand sound, Here’s the Friday Night Party write-up. I’ll take you through each band’s big moments and let you know what worked, what didn’t, and sprinkle in plenty of personal anecdotes for good measure.
Saint Beryl
ANU’s own Saint Beryl started off the day with storm clouds churning above. Their set pulled my mates and I towards the siren call of Phoebe Bridgers’ ‘Kyoto’ ringing across Kambri. After passing through the security check, I was immediately hit by Burgmann’s BNO Band using their energetic vocalists and explosive horns section to breathe new life into every song they covered. Together they teased a wild crowd out of Lorde’s ‘Green Light’ and showed just how hard a student band could rock a professional stage.
However, after the crowd dispersed at the end of their set was when the sobering reality of Friday Night Party started to hit. With low ticket sales and few big early afternoon draws, the generous site on Fellows Oval emptied out. As one instantly memorable partygoer kept dancing, the rest of us were left with not much to do but find a bean bag and wait for the next set.
Sputnik Sweetheart
Almost in reaction to the low-energy start to the day, this four-piece band of Canberra locals came with one goal, to get the relatively small crowd moving. It’s hard to think of a more iconic Bush Capital experience than jamming out to these guys on a cloudy day underneath the Telstra Tower. With their signature Alt-Rock sound and Aussie Grunge aesthetic, Sputnik Sweetheart brought their best material. Kicking off their set with the energising ‘Lindy Hop’ and then, without pausing for a breath moving into ‘Us Girls’ gave the event a much-needed kick into action. Their set rushed by wildly and set the tone for the fast-paced night to come.
Birdz
Nathan Bird, AKA Birdz, describes himself as “a proud Murri man with Badtjala, Juru, Scottish and Melanesian heritage”. The Australian rap legend came onto the stage with the sun setting, passionate and ready to play the music he sees as a “declaration of survival”. After winning the crowd over with the charged anthems ‘Black Child’ and ‘Aussie Aussie’ he masterfully controlled the energy of the growing festival. Tempering the frenzied mosh’s energy with the emotive ‘Fly’ and closing with his definitive ‘Bagi-la-m Bargan’, Birdz closed his set on a powerful note. In a week filled with discussions around Australia’s tenuous postcolonial identity, Birdz ‘politically driven sound reflected his valuable personal experience, creating an evocative shared moment with the crowd.
The Lazy Eyes
After becoming the unexpected openers of this year’s Splendour in the Grass, the Lazy Eye’s are launching their career with some serious energy behind them. The band had some recently acquired die-hard fans to satisfy and, as an act just building their reputation, immediately needed to win over the rest of the crowd. As Australia’s newest Psychedelic Rock offering, this group of high school friends seem set on carving themselves a place in the genre’s history alongside acts like King Gizzard and Pond. Opening with tracks ‘The Island’ and ‘Fuzz Jam’ from their April 2022 debut Album Songbook, they quickly introduced the ANU to their unique sound. Their synth-pop cover of the Bee Gees ‘’More Than a Woman’’, from Triple J’s Like a Version was a highlight of the night. Especially considering this was the first time they’ve played it for a live crowd. Closing their set with the experimental and mood-shifting ‘Where’s My Brain???’ The Lazy Eye’s had the now fully assembled, hundreds strong sea of students absolutely ready for more.
Confidence Man
With heavy rain and severe wind predicted for this point in the night, Brisbane’s Confidence Man shrugged off the dire forecasts. Bringing their well-choreographed, quick change-filled routine to a miraculously storm-free night the Indie Electro Pop group lit up the stage. The absurdly confident leading duo of Janet Planet and Sugar Bones showered fans with champagne between their tried and tested hits ‘Does It Make You Feel Good’ and ‘Boyfriend (Repeat)’. After falling in with a group of die-hard fans and singing along to every song I knew at least half the words to, I was definitely feeling the magic of their set. Treating their audience to a series of dramatic and festival-worthy looks, the band really brought their self-reported “own portable rave” to Fellows. Once they had wrapped up their set and left us with their classic ‘C.O.O.L Party’ I’d been thoroughly convinced that, to quote the track. “I’ve been to heaps of parties . . . and to be honest, this one is the best. It’s the Party of the Year”
Skegss
With just the headline act to go, the night had already served up plenty of instantly memorable experiences and given me a new appreciation of some of my favourite songs. The energy I’d already given to the event brought me gently into Skegs’s peaceful and nostalgic opening track ‘Stranger Days’. Then, without a second’s hesitation, the surf and garage rock trio of Byron Bay locals switched gears into their high-octane tracks ‘Paradise’ and ‘Spring Has Sprung’ ringing the festival’s energy to a resounding crescendo and whipping up a few lightheartedly aggressive mosh pits in the process. Closing the night out with this iconic Aussie group then having rain finally start falling only seconds after their final song seemed like the perfect end to the night.
After bringing these acts together for one incredible night, Friday Night Party made good on its promise of being 2022’s “biggest party on Campus”. While avoiding catastrophic weather and concerns about low turnout, the event explosively capped off the year with one last big event everyone, even ACT Senator David Pocock, could get involved in. I can’t wait to see another Friday Night Party in 2023 so that this exceptional ANU tradition can continue on and I can keep enjoying some of the country’s biggest new acts right on my doorstep.
At midday, on the 2nd of July, Garema Place was transformed into an amphitheatre.
A crowd of people had overflowed the square and arranged themselves to stand at attention to the amplified voice of protest – a marquee fitted with a PA system. The protesting assembly declared their intentions in the form of a forest of picket signs, disgusted by the overturn of Roe v. Wade. For the past fifty years the US Supreme Court’s landmark case has protected an individual’s right to choose.
The messages were varied in tone, but united in meaning; the cuttingly blunt and the mockingly witty.
“Abortion = Healthcare!” “Girls just want to have fundamental human rights!”
Approaching this scene, I was, for the first time, hit with the scale of the gathering. I wondered aloud who the intended audience of the demonstration was.
Surely, we weren’t seeking the attention of the offending American judiciary? Nor was our national government likely to be moved. Even supposing we did sway the heart of some MP, or an ACT Minister, what exactly did we expect them to do about the erosion of bodily autonomy in a country half-way around the world?
One of my companions knocked me out of my cynicism. She pointed out a pair of young girls, not older than five or six, accompanying their mother at the rally. One held a twig with a sheet of A4 paper taped to the end – a picket sign in miniature.
“There’s your audience.”
…
Packed into the square – steps and tables standing in for bleachers – we listened to a series of speeches. Topics ranged from the specific and horrific consequences of anti-abortion legislation, to the details of the Roe v. Wade decision, and strong calls for more radical and progressive reform in our own government. The style of the speakers also varied. The event saw touching personal storytelling, cautious optimism from veteran activists and firebrand oratory from the socialist contingent; all serving to unite and ignite the crowd with a potent mixture of outrage and hope.
At the close of the speeches, from somewhere within the audience, a drum started beating. We followed it, and our small armada of signs marched through Civic Square, the Legislative Assembly and the shopping centre. Loosely escorted by police, alternatively stoic and professional or enthusiastically supportive, we marched on the road. The slight sense of trespass and the disrupted traffic only added to our sense of importance and unity.
As the task of calling “What do we want?” and “When do we want it?” passed through the crowd like a baton, the accompanying “Abortion Rights!” and “Now!” echoed off the surrounding buildings; my mind turned again to who this was all for.
A week later, I don’t remember much of the speeches, nor do I remember those who gave them. What I do remember is their oratory skills and genuine passion for the cause. What I remember is the crowd. I remember when the speakers brought up some shameful statistics. I remember being appalled. And those around me shared my sentiment. When a story of strength or some progressive proposal was forwarded, I remember cheering – along with everybody else. I remember the beating of the drum, a bass note for our cries of support and denouncement.
In this way, by the fluctuations of hope and outrage, the consistency of our agreement, and the sense of group disobedience the assembly was turned from a collection of strangers to a unit with purpose. Group mentality, good versus evil, us and them; they’re old tricks, but undeniably effective.
…
A protest is a tool – like a crowbar or a chisel. It’s an instrument that works to effect change on a social system and its effectiveness, like any tool, depends both on the force generated by it, and the precision with which it is wielded. The elements that give a protest its force, how it generates and focuses the energy of its participants, are well studied, widely practiced, tried-and-true. But the matter of when and where to apply that energy, and who best to bring that force, these are open questions.
This is a solidarity march. In solidarity with a series of protests across the country – part of a larger demonstration as a warning to our own government. But this march is also for us, the marchers; in solidarity with one another. By gathering, marching, listening to speeches and making signs we reaffirm each other’s belief that reproductive rights are human rights, and that those rights are worth defending. We are all, in some way, those young girls; and we teach one another what their mother is teaching them – when our rights, our freedoms, and the principles we believe in come under attack, this is what we do.
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Letters to the Editor
Have some thoughts? Questions? Ideas? Send a Letter to the Editor below.Name (optional)
The ANUSA Probity Team recently released their report on the 2022 student election. It summarises any contentious issues in the election, such as Grassroots’ announcement of their ticket in violation of ANUSA election rules and the controversy around Divorced Dads for ANUSA. However, the probity report also details each ticket’s finances, and it reveals a clear correlation between ticket success and the amount of money they spent.
In summary, Grassroots ANUSA spent significantly more than any other ticket, with their actual expenditure being $1,048, followed distantly by Blake Iafeta who spent $330. Grassroots ANUSA went on to win nearly all positions for which they put up candidates, and they now quite firmly control ANUSA’s executive, along with a substantial number of General Representatives. Blake Iafeta failed in his bid for the presidency, but ultimately won a General Representative slot.
Though other tickets spent money on their campaigns, it was substantially less than Grassroots, yet closer to Iafeta, as the graph above shows.
This is not to say that more money spent on campaigns must cause a better electoral result; it could be that tickets which are more committed contribute more money, but such commitment is evident to, and supported by, the student population.
However, ticket expenditure likely plays some role in eventual success, especially when tickets dedicate most of their money towards Facebook advertisements. The graph below shows that tickets that allocated the most towards advertising performed significantly better in the election.
This is not new in student elections, and using Facebook ads has been a common tactic for several years. Nonetheless, it could suggest that finance is playing a large role in ANUSA elections, as opposed to policy debate.
Additionally, a majority of these funds come from the candidates themselves. The highest contributors were Christian Flynn – the 2022 President – and Blake Iafeta, who budgeted $335 and $330 respectively. Each of Grassroots ANUSA’s candidates for executive positions injected $65, and Chido Nyakuengama, the 2022 Vice President, contributed $200. In fact, the only ticket not to use candidate funds was Get Going for ANUSA, which relied entirely on funding from the ANU Liberal Club. This raises concerns around the accessibility of ANUSA elections: are wealthier students who are able to put more money in the ones more likely to win? Some students have echoed this concern: the General Secretary for 2022, Ben Yates, reported worries amongst polled students about how “advertising created equity issues…” in the election.
Yates’ report also revealed how a major complaint from students during the election was the “…sheer quantity of campaign material.” While the election is open to all, some students are not interested and where once they could avoid campaigners on Kambri or candidate debates, sponsored ads on Facebook are far more pernicious, and for some, far more frustrating.
The ANUSA Probity Team recently released their report on the 2022 student election. The report also details each ticket’s finances, and it reveals a clear correlation between ticket success and the amount of money they spent.
Comments Off on Every ANU Student Should be Worried About the Arabic Cuts
As you’ve probably heard, the ANU is in financial hot water. In October, Brian Schmidt told the Canberra Times that due to the global pandemic, there would be 194 staff cuts. These staff cuts have been accompanied by pay cuts for the top leaders, a deferred pay rise for staff, and increased borrowing by the university. So far, the College of Engineering and Computer Science has released its plan to reduce 21 positions. Within the College of Arts and Social Sciences, Arabic and Classics have been earmarked for changes in ‘academic profile’ to ensure programs are ‘strategic and viable’. Proposed changes for Classics involve changing the contractual structure of the department whereas for Arabic it involves cutting two of its three lecturers.
As someone who has studied Arabic for the last two years, I know that to deliver an adequate Arabic program with one lecturer would be impossible. Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Arabic courses are run concurrently, each containing 5 hours of lectures a week and 1 hour of tutorials. It is simply not possible for one staff member to deliver 15 hours of lectures a week and run 3 hours of class. This isn’t even including courses like Media Arabic and Special Topics in Arabic.
Yet the university’s decision goes beyond these courseload issues, and I argue even students who don’t study the language should be concerned.
At ANU
Arabic is one of the most important languages in international relations. If the ANU hopes to best equip its students in their careers, a strong Arabic language program is an essential supplement. The ANU’s international relations department is ranked 8th globally and 1st in Australia. The program’s success, combined with the ANU’s connection to the Australian Public Service (particularly in foreign affairs), is a calling card for the university. In the Teaching Research and International Policy Project’s 2014 faculty survey of 5,139 International Relations scholars from 32 countries, 82.4% of respondents considered Arabic to be one of the three most important languages an IR student could possess. Of these scholars, 14.05% of respondents ranked Arabic as the most important language ‘for students to understand if they plan to pursue a professional career in foreign affairs’, while 32.34% ranked it second and 36% ranked it 3rd..
This makes sense. Revolutions, invasions, war, and terrorism have meant that the Middle East has proved to be a place of keen interest for international relations scholars over the past few decades. Its burgeoning democratic movements, the unceasing Israel-Palestine conflict, and the role of political Islam in domestic politics among a host of other issues, indicate that it will continue to be a key region within the field. This sentiment is echoed by the US government, who lists Arabic as a ‘critical language’, meaning increasing the number of bilingual speakers is of high priority, “for reasons of national security and economic prosperity”.
In Australian Society
Arab Australians and Arabic speakers have played a significant role in shaping the cultural and social fabric of Australia. Waves of migration from the Middle East has led to Arabic being the 3rd most spoken language in Australia. Nevertheless, we are marred by a past of racial discrimination, which in more recent times has been directed at our Islamic and Middle Eastern community.
While the most visceral outburst has been the 2005 Cronulla riots, others include the then Immigration Minister Peter Dutton suggesting that the Fraser Government made a mistake letting in Lebanese refugees, the election of openly Islamophobic politicians such as Pauline Hanson, Bob Katter and Fraser Anning, the rise of the ‘Reclaim Australia’ movement and the Australian connection to the 2019 massacre of 51 Muslims in Christchurch. We’ve also suffered lone wolf attacks perpetrated by members of the Arab and Islamic community including the Lindt café siege, Bourke street attack, Endeavour Hills stabbing and Parramatta shooting. Learning, speaking and teaching Arabic promotes cultural understanding and immersion, allowing a tempering of the extreme voices within our society who have attempted to shift anti-Arab and anti-Islamic discourse into the mainstream. It also facilitates the inclusion of isolated and disenfranchised groups of society from which homegrown terrorists have emerged.
In Foreign Affairs
David Frum, a staff writer for The Atlantic Magazine and supporter of the Iraq War suggested that the campaign was “undone by blithe assumptions, cultural ignorance and careless planning”. Australia as a part of the Multi-National force in Iraq is culpable in its lack of cultural understanding and false assumptions about the region. Ian Parameter claims the Australian approach to Iraq is “unprofessional”. In his article ‘What’s Wrong With Australia’s Middle East Policy?’, he describes interactions with ministers whose simultaneous ignorance, and importance in Australian Middle East decision making was concerning. It is clear our future foreign policy decisions will inevitably cost lives, what is not clear, is whether the same mistakes driven by ‘blithe assumptions’ and ‘cultural Ignorance’ will occur.
Learning Arabic is one of the most important ways by which we can better understand Arabic nations, cultures and societies. This will allow for more informed policy decisions based on a reality that we truly comprehend and appreciate, rather than ones built on ignorance and essentialism. Given ANU is known for its stream into the Australian Public Service, in particular the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, it’s not hard to imagine that those learning Arabic at ANU today will be making substantial contributions to Middle Eastern policy in the future. Without a viable Arabic program and Arabic speakers in government, we risk making foreign policy decisions in the dark, and consequently repeating the same mistakes which have cost many Australian and Arab lives.
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Comments Off on So, You Ran in ANUSA Elections. Now What?
Elections are finally over, and I think we can all give a collective sigh of relief. If you ran and weren’t one of the 38(ish) candidates who got elected, you’re probably disappointed with the result. You may have put a lot of work into developing detailed policy that no one read, or spent hours campaigning and joking that you’re now a “stupol hack” instead of studying. If you weren’t jaded and disillusioned with ANUSA already, chances are you will be when elections roll around next year and you see the same policy proposals paraded. Between bitterness and burnout, it’s no surprise that few student representatives run for re-election.
The good news is that there are many different ways to make meaningful impacts on student life without winning elections. Instead of plotting to take over Clubs Council, here are a few ideas to get active on campus.
Residential Committees
The recent Interhall Committee campaign Who Pays the Price? has demonstrated how different residential communities can coordinate to force student issues into the public consciousness. If you live in a hall of residence at ANU, you have the opportunity to get involved in your residential committees and organise activities and campaigns. There is a tendency for many candidates to run for “first year” positions and few for senior roles.
As with any of the ideas on this list, you shouldn’t run just to enhance your CV, get an honorarium or prepare for next year’s student elections. If you have the skills and passion necessary to contribute to residential life, go ahead. If not, there are plenty of other opportunities.
ANU Committees
What do meetings of ANU Council, the Academic Board and a bunch of University committees have in common? Students can attend as observers. Many of the big decisions of ANU are made in these obscure bodies and you have the ability to see how this happens. You should give notice if you plan on attending (check each board’s charter for who to email), but there’s nothing stopping you from keeping an eye on the inner workings of the university. Except confidentiality. And a lack of info on the ANU website. And that time ANU Council met in Darwin for some reason.
Lobbying Student Representatives
Unlike taciturn student observers, many student representatives actually sit on ANU boards with full privileges, from the Undergraduate Member on ANU Council to the Student Experience Committee. Further, College Representatives have a direct dialogue with the heads of academic colleges. While you may not hold these positions, there’s nothing stopping you from lobbying your representatives to, in turn, lobby those with their hands on the levers of university power. “Consultation” is a term often bandied about during elections, but you can ensure your reps actually make an impact. Arrange a meeting in person, prepare and present your issue, urge them to relay your concerns to the board/dean and follow up on action taken. It’s simple, and many reps will actually be keen to listen to someone who can give them something concrete to bring up at their next meeting.
ANUSA Working Groups, Departments & Collectives
As a member of ANUSA, you can attend SRC, College Representative and general meetings, where you can question officeholders and move motions. However, you can also get involved in working groups, where discussions from arts funding to gender equality influence the activities of the student union. As these are often poorly attended, you have many opportunities to contribute. Be warned: some working groups are more focused and effective than others. Try a few out to filter out the white elephants. You can also get involved with ANUSA’s autonomous departments and collectives, which often take the lead on organising campaign and advocacy action. If you’re from a marginalised community group, meetings are regular and open. Just check Facebook or Department Officers for more info!
Education Committee (EdCom)
EdCom is the education committee of ANUSA, tasked with advocating for education issues as well as mounting campaigns and protests on topics such as fee hikes. While it has gained a reputation for being dominated by factional interests, it has gradually become more open in recent years. Combine this with relatively low turnout to meetings and a considerable budget for campaign activities and there is significant potential for keen, experienced organisers to push ANUSA’s advocacy forward. It remains to be seen whether next year’s EdCom will be an effective force for change. Nonetheless, if you and a couple of friends have an issue you want to ANUSA to campaign on (possibly with funding), then checking in with EdCom and the Education Officer is advised.
Student Media
If you’re looking to ask difficult questions to the ANU or publish essays on the student experience, student media is for you. With actual online readerships and topics ranging from changes to university degrees to wider university policies (not to mention detailed election reporting), ANU Observer and Woroni play an integral part in keeping the student body informed about all goings-on on campus. While reporter places are limited, Woroni is always on the lookout for online and print content from students. If you want to write opinion pieces on the student experience at ANU that people actually read, this may be an avenue for you.
Truth be told, the ANU doesn’t make it easy for students to affect university policy. Most of the big decisions are made at the executive level with little to no student consultation. Barring a sudden promotion to the Chancellery, you may have to broaden your scope outside of ANUSA and ANU to have real influence by finding organisations the university wants (or at least is forced) to hear. For instance, the Young Workers Centre runs a variety of campaigns combatting wage theft that you can get involved in through volunteering on their website. You could also try emailing ANU executives directly, and if their response is unsatisfactory, reply or write a letter to the Canberra Times.
You can always run again next year, using your newfound insight into student elections. Chances are it’ll be easier, since you’ll know what you’re doing, have name recognition and have (hopefully) been keeping up to date with ANUSA and university news, rather than being thrown in the deep end. Maybe you don’t even need to focus on ANU; there are plenty of other institutions and problems out there needing to be fixed. All you can be sure about is that if you don’t do it, it won’t happen.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Comments Off on The Hidden Campaign Costs of ANUSA Elections
If you’re anything like me, you’re addicted to your phone. While procrastinating on Instagram and Facebook, you likely saw a few, or a lot, of ads from ANUSA tickets, ranging from how-to-votes to specific policy positions. The COVID-19 social distancing rules killed almost all in-person campaigning usually seen during election week and the money that would usually be spent on campaign merchandise was now free to pump ads onto our feeds.
Facebook, after sustained pressure after the 2016 US Presidential election from campaigners, in 2019, spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, launched the Facebook Ad Library. This database allows you to go to any Facebook or Instagram page and see what ads they have running at any given time. If they’re classified as ‘political’, Facebook also allows you to go back through the previous ads a page has run as well as the demographics that were targeted, the location of those people and how much was spent. When one has a database of Facebook ads, extra free time facilitated by online learning and a hunger to procrastinate as Week 6 looms, one just has to have a look.
An important distinction that needs to be made when it comes to ANUSA election ads is that not every ticket’s page is being considered ‘political’ by Facebook. I don’t know if this is due to them not self identifying or if Facebook just doesn’t count them as such. Either way, it means that the data we work with is in no way complete. We can still find some interesting facts with the data we have but for those non political ads or pages we’re unable to see anything more than the current ads being run. Many pages were also quick off the mark deleting their page and timing ads to expire when polls closed, though we can still see the ads if they were marked as political.
Once you take all the ads that I could find listed in the database, as well as the ones that I saw on my own newsfeed, there were at least 40 across all tickets for the whole week. Of these 40, 28 were from ‘Proud’, all of which being classified as political. ‘You’ coming second with 7, 2 of which were classified as political. ‘Brighter Together’ with 7, 5 being political, ‘Refocus’ with 5, ‘Spice Up!’ with 2, all political, and ‘Go the Distance’ and ‘A New Way Forward’ running 1.
This huge disparity between ‘Proud’ and the rest of the field is interesting. Based on estimates, they far outspent their rivals and received 14 of seats on the SRC, with one of the six executive positions, the second largest grouping behind ‘Brighter Together’. All other tickets, ‘Refocus,’ ‘Forward’ and ‘You’, only received 3 Gen-Reps and 3 College-Reps combined. Of course ‘Proud’’s success can be put down to many things but the amount spent and the sheer number of ads they ran must be taken into account.
Though ad numbers are interesting in what they reveal about how each of the tickets hopes to maximise their votes, what about the average number of impressions? Or the number of times the ad appeared on someone’s timeline? Or how much was spent on each ad? Sadly, as not every ticket or ad was classified as ‘political’, we only have good data for ‘Proud’ and incomplete data for ‘Brighter Together’ and ‘You’. Over their 28 ads, on average ‘Proud’ received around 5,300 impressions, though this was swayed by a select number of ads that received substantially more than the rest. Overall they had around 120 thousand impressions (!), around 70-90% of the total ANUSA campaign ad impressions for the week. Given the ANU undergraduate population is around 10-12 thousand I wouldn’t be surprised if almost every individual on campus saw at least one of their ads over the week. When these two metrics are considered together it’s clear to see that ‘Proud’’s ads were seen more than any other campaign. ‘Brighter Together’, from their 4 ‘political’ ads, received 1,150 average impressions, ‘You’, from their two political ads, received between 1,500-2,500 impressions and ‘Spice Up’ received around 500 impressions per ad. No other ticket had ads classified as political so we cannot compare them but it is clear that ‘Proud’ is far ahead compared to these numbers.
We can go even deeper in the specifically political ads with a geographical location. Unsurprisingly, all of the ads were shown predominantly in the ACT, though ‘Proud’ had around 8-15% of their impressions being shown in NSW. On a stranger note, it appears that ‘Proud’ accidentally first ran their how-to-vote ad to the whole of Australia, with 60% of impressions ultimately being in the ACT, 17% in NSW, 9% in SA, 9% in VIC, 5% WA, 2% in QLD and <1% in TAS. ‘Brighter Together’ also had a similar issue with their how-to-vote ad being shown all over Australia but with 21% of impressions being in QLD, 19% in NSW, 18% in VIC, 15% in NT, only 9% in ACT, 8% WA, 4% SA, and 2% being in TAS. From this, over 70% of impressions were to men. This ad was also shown to all age groups, so ultimately 20% of the impression from this ad were men over the age of 65. From what I can see only ‘Proud’ fixed this problem, limiting their how-to-vote ad only to the ACT and NSW.
The last demographic breakdown that can be made from the library is the gender and age breakdown. This is where things really “Spice Up” (excuse the pun). ‘Brighter Together’ only campaigned on issues of campus safety to women, also overwhelmingly campaigning on issues of sustainability to them, with 64% of the impressions being women. This is mirrored in ‘Proud!’’s advertising. They ran a SASH ad in English only to women, while their ad in Hindi had a gendered impression split of exactly 50/50. This is also the case with smoking areas and pill testing being strongly targeted to women in the beginning of the week. After the 25th, this changed and by the end of the week they were closer to equal. Obviously this raises questions about why this was the case. Was ‘Proud’ deliberately targeting them this way and changing it later in the week or is it Facebook’s algorithm that created this bias? Another factor worth noting about ‘Proud’ is that their policy focused ads, in the beginning of the week, appeared to be pushed to men more, while their more ‘joke’ and ‘fun’ ads were pushed more to women. As the week progressed, in the policy space, this became more equal but ultimately their ‘joke’ ads were still being pushed to women by the close of polls, some as high as 60%. In contrast, ‘Proud”’s Mandarin and Hindi ads were much more equal across the board, if with a slight favourability to men in some cases.
Finally, the big question. Which campaign spent the most? As the data isn’t complete, this question isn’t simple. Based on what we have, ‘Proud’ is far ahead, with estimates, after taking into account funding caps, having spent roughly $15-30 per ad for their whole run, but for their campaign video, the one with the backing audio ‘Feel The Way I Do’ by the Jungle Giants they spent a huge $200-299 on the one ad. This ad was by far the most seen in the campaign with over 25 thousand impressions, 90% being to people in the ACT between the ages of 18-25. From this it can be expected that they spent roughly $400-800 on Facebook ads, and their funding cap was around $900.
This move to online campaigning has been slowly happening over time as in-person campaigning areas and regulations become more and more restrictive and people realise the possibilities of online campaigning. COVID-19 has simply sped up this process. Facebook Ad library can give us important insights where election regulations need to catch up, as well as seeing who the candidates and tickets are campaigning to, even if incomplete this year, implying how they value individuals and where they think possible votes are in our community.
If you’d like to give the Facebook Ad library a try, you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/
Just type in the name of the Facebook or Instagram page and select either ‘all ads’ or ‘issues, elections or politics’ tab.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
Person A has invited you to like their ANUSA campaign page.
Person B has changed their profile picture on Facebook to announce them running as a General Representative under Person A’s ticket.
Person C is running as an independent and is sending out personalised policy recaps over Messenger.
Person D is Person C’s best friend and is messaging you to advocate for Person C, both on Messenger and Instagram. They’re dedicated.
Person E is you, thrust into the world of ANUSA elections, wondering what the hell a ticket is and why everyone’s profile pictures now all have the same filter. How do you even animate a profile picture?
This is my third year experiencing the circus of electing the upcoming year’s ANUSA representatives and I’m ready to delve into some of the lessons that I’ve learnt:
If you don’t feel equipped to vote, then don’t feel pressured into it. If you’re not invested in ANUSA, then that’s okay. If you don’t even know what an ANUSA representative is, then that’s fine. I was in my second year until I registered that the people stopping me in Kambri were ANUSA candidates and not pluggers trying to sign me up to Cancer Council donations.
2. When you vote for a person, you don’t have to vote for their entire ticket. Each ANUSA representative is voted independent from their ticket. Think of a ticket as a good way to get publicity for yourself and your policy, but not like a political party.
3. You don’t have to vote for every vacancy on ANUSA. You can pick and choose which positions you want to vote a candidate into. If you just want to vote for the President position, then you can do that. You want to just vote in a General Representative because they’re your friend? You do that.
4. On that note, when you vote for a specific position, you don’t have to number your preferences for every candidate. Say there are four candidates for President, but you only want to vote for one person. You can number that person as your first preference and cast your ballot without numerating the remaining three.
5. Don’t feel the need to like every campaign page that your Facebook friends invite you to. You’re allowed to keep your feed restricted to Proud Plants Canberra and Hummus Meme pages. (Have I revealed too much about my personal interests?)
6. Voting is open for only a couple of days. This year it is open between 9am, 25th August to 12pm, the 28th of August. You can head to voteanusa.com during this time frame to cast your votes.
7. ANUSA candidates who are serious, genuinely put passion and time into their policies. If you really want to educate yourself on the best person to vote for, take the time to read individual candidate’s policies to assess whether you want them to represent you.
8. If you currently don’t have the brain capacity to read policies, you can also vote for the people with the prettiest Facebook profile picture filters and Instagram pages. Good marketing reflects their ability to advocate for students right?
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.
It’s back. The all exciting ANUSA elections have returned with astonishingly revolutionary and astounding policies that will no doubt transform the very foundations of ANUSA. This is the third election I have actively witnessed, and I await in anticipation for it all to be over and done with.
This time however, I wanted to highlight something about ANUSA elections that really gets my goat. Tickets. First of all, what the heck are they? Second, what are their roles? And thirdly, why on earth do we need them?
Shockingly enough for those who do not know me personally, I am a dumb person who was even dumber in their first year. When it came to ANUSA elections in my first year, I had no idea what they were, who to vote for or even how to vote. Conveniently enough, I had a friend who was running for ANUSA, and they explained to me how to vote and introduced me to the idea of tickets.
For you all who are not aware, tickets in the context of ANUSA are groups that run under the same principles and support each other on the campaign. So, me being the naïve first year that I was, I not only voted for her but also every candidate on her ticket. She was my friend, so the rest of the ticket should be chill, right?
It was soon after that that I realised that tickets at ANUSA have a darker side to them. They are a popularity vote. Tickets can easily invite people into the party who are influential to get their friends to vote in the elections for them and their ticket (just as I did) to improve other members’ chances of being elected. It is a tactic I learnt in my politics class and I was impressed and a little nervous to witness it in the elections for our student association.
Let us look at some hypotheticals as to how one may gain power using tickets. An easy ploy to better your chances would be to have as many people on your ticket as possible. Not only does it almost guarantee their vote, but they have also employed other people to praise their name in the elections. While this may come out of a genuine respect for one’s policies, an innate competition between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is employed. Ideally, if the feelings were genuine, then one would not even need to be running on a ticket. People would simply trust in your cause, and then advertise your policies on behalf of them.
Additionally, if someone has been ‘shoulder tapped’ to be part of a ticket, they may be being used for clout. They are a part of a community that no one else on the ticket reaches, hence tapping into another pool of voters. Others on the ticket then exploit their connections if their friends don’t appropriately research the individuals on the ticket. Typically, people on the ticket also don’t actually share the same views as the rest of the ticket, like they would like to advertise. While this is a dark portrayal of student politics, there is always a risk that people will be elected just by band-wagoning off other people’s reputation and passion in the ticket system.
So, what am I getting at with all this? At the end of the day you are voting in individuals. Not tickets. So, if you can, talk to the candidates. Do some light reading into who they are, how reliable they’ve been in participating in student welfare and what policies they’re running on. I am not saying that someone running on a certain ticket makes them any worse than others, it just means that certain people have for whatever reason, decided to run alongside them.
I would like to note however, that in addition to candidates running on tickets, you also have independent candidates, which I personally feel is a much more democratic way of campaigning. You are running by yourself; your successes and merits are your own. There is no ambiguity or misconception between members on values and ideas. Because at the end of the day, people will be voting for you, not a party.
Also, the settled nature of a party perpetuates an idea that a person may work well within the party but outside may be uncooperative. A system of independent candidates does not have this issue because candidates know they will be working with others outside of the pre-established intra-ticket relations.
There is one upside to the social distancing regulations – 2020 is the first year I won’t be anxious walking down Uni Ave, nervously avoiding eye contact with candidates…surely, I’m not alone in rejoicing this? However, I am very excited to watch the ANUSA debates in the comfort of my own home, popcorn and coke can at my side as I judge people’s policies.
Cheers and best of luck to all candidates for ANUSA 2020.
Think your name would look good in print? Woroni is always open for submissions. Email write@woroni.com.au with a pitch or draft. You can find more info on submitting here.