May 2, 2011, Issue 4
news
Macquarie University Student Newspaper
Campus Sustainability Walk
Photo by Iain Brew
On Saturday, April 30, Macquarie
University once again partnered with
the City of Ryde’s Catchment Connections project to organise a free walking
tour on campus. With a focus on sustainability, the guided “Sustainability
Walk” around campus served to celebrate biodiversity on the Macquarie
University campus and shed some
light on previous and future initiatives
that will aim to enhance sustainability
around Mars Creek.
Mars Creek, along with Terry’s,
Shrimpton and Buffalo Creeks, is a
tributary of the Lane Cove River. Over
85% of its catchment is managed by
just four land owners – City of Ryde
Council, Macquarie University, the
M2 Motorway and Lane Cove River
National Park.
As the majority of the creek runs
through the Macquarie University
campus, the decision was made that
the University be involved with this
initiative. University Sustainability Officer Belinda Bean explained that recently the primary issue with the lake
involved the current fern overgrowth,
or “red carpet”, which is the matted,
reddish substance that had covered the
surface of the lake.
The fern, referred to as Red Azolla,
is a plant native to Australia, and is
one of a small number of floating fern
species. At a very thick and complete
coverage, it may contribute to the lowering of dissolved oxygen levels in the
water, which in turn causes the breakdown of organics in the water, forming
unpleasant odours. A secondary concern is that visually the red mat may
have been mistaken by people as be-
ing a scum of floating pollutants.
Guests were shown the work of
campus sustainability group Bushcare@MQ, an ad-hoc group of Macquarie University staff, students and
local community members, along
the riparian zone. Originally a barren space along Mars Creek, the area
has been turned into a lush and thriving zone by volunteers. Guests also
had the opportunity to walk amongst
the rare Sydney Turpentine Ironbark
Forest, witness the innovative storm
and sewerage treatment plan in action at the campus’ sporting fields, and
gained an insight into the water recycling and co-generation of electricity
in the University.
There is still a way to go in terms of
sustainability on the Macquarie University campus. According to Bean,
students have two options to get involved. “We have an active Bushcare
group that do work around the lake.
Our next session is on Thursday 12th
May from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM. Volunteers get professional guidance, tools
and afternoon tea provided; they just
need to bring water and wear appropriate clothing and footwear.”
Bean also explains that the Arboretum is another option for students
looking to get involved in campus sustainability. The Macquarie University
Arboretum consists of all the trees and
plants on campus and provides a habitat for many native birds and animals.
“Students can do a self guided Arboretum tour around campus, or a selfguided sustainability tour.”
The self-guided tour is designed to
familiarise students, staff and visitors
with the sustainability initiatives and
practices that the University has established over the last few years.
Downloadable information and
comprehensive maps can be obtained
from www.mq.edu.au/arboretum and
www.mq.edu.au/sustainability/guides.
html.
For more information about
Bushcare@MQ, visit www.mq.edu.
au/sustainability/biodiversity/bushcareatmq.html Valerie Wangnet
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
1
Event Review:My Graduation Godzilla Returns!
I went to my graduation last week.
At first I wasn’t sure if I could be bothered. It seemed like I was spending a
bunch of money hiring fancy clothing
so that I could go and manually pick
up a piece of paper that said I had a
degree, when they were going to mail
it to me for free instead. But a family
friend lent me the academic dress and
hat, and my schedule was clear.
The ceremony was pretty awesome. I learnt lots, for one. Turns out
that we actually have a Chancellor.
I mean, you hear about the ViceChancellor all the time. And I guess it
doesn’t take that big of a leap of logic
to figure out that we should also have
an actual Chancellor too. Still, three
years at Macquarie and the first I knew
we had a full-blown Chancellor was
when I sat down in the graduation hall
at E7B and he stepped up to the lectern and introduced himself. I shook
his hand after. It was pretty sweet.
So there we were. Two hundred of
my fellow Media students. All of us
wearing pimpin’ academic dress, all
of us trying to keep those weird hats
from rolling off our heads. I knew
these people. I’d drunk with these
RRP
$59.95
Sale
$35.95
RRP
$24.95
Sale
$9.95
Member
$32.95
Member
$8.96
RRP
$50.00
Sale
$24.95
Member
$19.95
RRP
$24.95
Sale
$9.95
Member
$8.96
RRP
$34.95
Sale
$16.95
people. I’d lied about doing my weekly readings with these people. They
were friends, but more importantly,
they were students. Still.
And then there was a moment,
amongst the surprisingly interesting
(and brief) speeches, when the full historical weight of tradition came over
me. They told us that the ceremony
goes back more than five hundred
years and that we had now joined the
ranks of almost one hundred thousand
Macquarie Graduates worldwide.
And then we walked up to the stage,
in ranks, one by one, and received our
degrees and shook the hand of the
Chancellor.
And then we were students no
longer, but graduates. We were adults.
We had been transformed into people
with authority over a few topics. We
had joined a global collective of similar people, who had gone through the
same things we had, who had stayed
up til 5 AM writing essays and stressing
about exams. We entered that hall as
students, and we came out as adults. It
was kinda scary. But also pretty cool.
Philip Jucker
S
A
L
E
Member
$15.26
Members save more in-store and online.
The Co-op Bookshop
Bldg C9A, Macquarie University, Ph. 8986 4000
www.coop-bookshop.com.au
UNIVERSITY CO-OPERATIVE BOOKSHOP LTD
2
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
Though the title Godzilla may frighten
one off from the Lighthouse Theatre, it is certainly not intended. In fact the only people
feeling terror about this upcoming DRAMAC production of four student-written plays
are the playwrights - and who wouldn’t be?
For Godzilla is named for both its gargantuan size and the immense talent it features
each year.
One such talent is Kendall Feaver, hot
off the heels of a critically acclaimed season at the Adelaide Fringe Festival with
her play Rocket Boy. Feaver brings to this
year’s production a fresh play with a hilarious yet provocative take on an unfortunate,
dysfunctional family. A mixture of light and
dark, ‘Friday Night is Family Night’ shows
off Feaver’s talents for depth and tone, bringing out the uplifting nature of a seemingly
dire circumstance.
Christopher Marchand has composed
and directed an alternate history of the
Apollo 11 mission gone wrong, entitled
‘Of Gods and Eagles’, a sombre play encompassing themes of isolation and crisis.
Marchand has shown extensive directing
prowess in four shows for DRAMAC, and
two short films. Despite this year’s dark effort, in the past he has written for three
Comedy Revues, proving not to be a one
Urban TheaTre ProjecTs
presents
Never let the truth get in the way of reality TV
4-14th May
bankstown arts centre
5 Olympic Parade Bankstown
For tickets and more information go to:
all tickets $18.
www.urbantheatre.com.au
trick pony.
A fresh face to the Lighthouse, William
Naughtin-Dent makes his writing and directing debut in ‘Three Tables and a Coda’.
Influenced by Stoppard and Frayn, it is an
experiment in Absurdism, questioning the
roles of Romanticism, science and artistic
culture in modern life. Set in a Sydney restaurant to the tune of sex, music and gourmet food, ‘Three Tables’ blurs the division
between theatre and reality, leaving audiences with a pleasurable headache.
In Kara Schlegl we find a wild card
whose own work has yet to be staged,
though she directed the powerful Hannah
& Martin for DRAMAC’s 4th spot last year
with great success. Her play ‘Conversations
with Dead People in Public Places’, about a
woman getting over her dead ex-boyfriend
by having a chat with him, is a step in a different direction - a tragicomedy diffusing
awkward stigmas surrounding death, loss
and talking to oneself.
Altogether, these plays make for an impressive line-up and are not to be missed.
DRAMAC’s Godzilla is showing at
The Lighthouse Theatre 19th – 21st, 25th 28th May
Doors Open 8pm. Tickets $10 members/ $12 students and staff/ $15 adults
To book, email bookings@dramac.org
Kara Schlegl
MQ Strikes: The University Response
In the last issue, we covered the NTEU
strikes happening at Macquarie. In response to our request for a statement from
the Vice Chancellor we got a reply from Tim
Sprague, the Director of Human Resources
at Macquarie Uni. Mr. Sprague is in charge
of the ongoing negotiations with the NTEU,
and has the following to say:
“The decision to go on strike - or, to
withhold student exam results, as happened late last year - entirely rests with the
NTEU. I can’t see that it achieves anything,
other than to disadvantage students.
The only way we’ll come to an agreement is if we keep meeting, keep talking
to each other, and keep trying to come up
with creative solutions. I think the strikes
are a distraction, they hurt students, staff
lose money, and they don’t influence the
University’s decision making processes, so
I don’t see how they help at all.
The university remains committed to
negotiating fair pay and conditions for its
academic staff, but it’s difficult to know how
we’ll resolve these two outstanding issues
when the NTEU is being inflexible with its
demands.
For example, looking at the issue of pay,
the University has offered academic staff an
annual 4% increase. It is above CPI and
Soccer Club RoundUp
The Macquarie University Soccer
Club started its season at the beginning of
April after a month of trials placing all the
new players in teams. This year, six men’s
teams and two women’s teams will be
competing in Gladesville Hornsby Football Association competition - the biggest
in Sydney.
The top two men’s teams play in the
Super League competition and have had
a solid start to the season sitting just out-
side the top four. They are a fairly new
squad and are expected to get bigger and
better as the season progresses, aiming to
get promoted to Premier League within
two years.
The other four men’s teams play in the
All Age divisions ranging from competitive to intermediate and social. The top
All Age Team and Social Team have had
very strong starts to the season as both are
sitting at the top of their ladders.
is consistent with what has been agreed to
at other universities in NSW. It is also competitive with both recent public and private
sector agreements such as those for NSW
Nurses and NAB. Macquarie’s staff are
among the 10 highest paid from Australia’s
39 universities.
The NTEU simply want to put caps put
on the number of casual and fixed-term
staff at all Australian universities, even those
universities where it’s not a problem, such
as Macquarie. In order to come up with a
solution to the stalemate , the University has
agreed to restrict how long staff can remain
on fixed term contracts at Macquarie. But
the NTEU aren’t interested because they
want national uniformity. The University
of NSW and Wollongong are at the same
stalemate on the same issue.
Students shouldn’t be under the illusion
that the NTEU represent them – they don’t
even represent the majority of staff at Macquarie. The recent strikes weren’t about student issues. They were about the NTEU trying to get a better deal in terms of pay and
conditions for their members. That’s what
their members pay them to do.”
Philip Jucker
The two women’s teams have also
had great starts to the season with the
competitive Women’s Team looking very
promising this year. If you missed out on
seeing the Soccer Club at O-Week or are
keen to come and have a kick around to
see what they’re all about, then join them
at one of their training sessions. The men’s
teams train on Wednesday nights at 7pm
and the women’s teams on Tuesday nights
at 7pm, located on the playing fields on
the corner of Culloden and Talavera Rd.
Stephen Gianniotis
Sir Christopher Ondaatje CBE
Honoured by University
Over the past few weeks celebrated author Sir Christopher Ondaatje
CBE delivered a series of lectures
drawing on his vast experience as a
writer and the undertakings that have
gone into his books.
Students sat for talks about key interests to Ondaatje over his literary career such as Virginia Woolf’s husband,
Leonard Woolf, whose early career is
explored in Ondaatje’s 2005 illustrated
biographical work Woolf in Ceylon.
Working with the University as a
Writer in Residence gave him the op-
portunity to provide encouragement
and inspiration to aspirant writers in the
Macquarie community.
Ondaatje was acknowledged for his
contributions to the University with a
Doctor of Letters honoris causa on the
13th April from the University Chancellor, Michael Egan in a ceremony at the
University.
There are a variety of academic talks
coming up at the University that are
open to all students which promise to
be educational and entertaining.
Check out the latest listings on the
Macquarie website Events Calendar.
Anita Wehbe
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
3
4
Template.indd 1Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
Grapeshot
18/04/2011 6:05:08 PM
Template.indd 2
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 18/04/2011
4, May 2,
2011
6:05:10
PM
5
Ever thought about fencing?
What is Macquarie
Uni Role Playing
Society (MURPS)?
More importantly,
what is a role-playing game?
Photo by Tom Christodoulou
Fencing is not necessarily a sport that
people know much about. It certainly
doesn’t get the hype that goes hand in
hand with sports such as rugby or cricket. However those in the know are well
aware of the numerous benefits the sport
offers, including increasing fitness levels,
strength and meeting new people.
Macquarie University Fencing Club
offers a five week beginners course so
you can learn a little more about what is
involved and see if it is the sport for you.
The course is for everyone with adults
and children all welcome to join. You
will learn the basic footwork required for
fencing, including how to guard, lunge,
attack and how to counter our opponent’s
attacks. Leading the course is Steve Augoloupis, who has represented Australia
in fencing at the top levels.
The course runs on Fridays and begins with stretches and a warm up before
it’s time to get suited up. Fencers practise
technique and work in pairs under the
guidance of Steve.
Dave joined the Learn to Fence course
and enjoyed every minute:
“At the end of the course, the nine
of us all entered into a competition
against each other using the electric fencing equipment. I ended up winning the
comp, but I think with the amount of fun
I had during the entire course, I would
have been just as happy with any ranking.
The fencing community is really friendly,
and you get to meet a lot of experienced
fencers - some of them are Olympians.
I can’t remember a time when I’ve had
more fun. I really look forward to my
Fridays now – they’re a highlight of the
week”.
For further information on the
‘Learn Fencing’ program at Macquarie University please visit the website:
www.mufencing.wordpress.com/
Dave Hardler
Latest on the New Library
There is much excitement as the new
library has opened its study spaces on
Levels 3 and 4 with room to hold more
than 500 students, available 8am to 8pm
weekdays.
The study spaces open up spots where
students can connect to the University
wireless network and print from USB
with ease.
While the old collection of books
is still on the move, you can still access
items by making requests online or at the
old library until the collection has been
moved in its entirety.
The new library promises more com-
6
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
puter facilities, 16 rooms for
students to work on presentations and a new café at the library entrance is in the works.
We can also expect the open-shelf
collection of 500,000 items to be made
available on levels 1 and 2 with the automated retrieval making 1 million more
items accessible in a matter of minutes.
You can keep track of new developments as they come to light by checking
the updates on the website, following the
Macquarie Library on Twitter (@MQ_Library) or by asking one of the friendly librarians.
Anita Wehbe
I’ll go out of order and answer the
second question first. Role-playing games
involve people playing the parts of characters in a narrative, acting out what
those characters would do in those situations. Some of you readers may well have
played a video game role-playing game,
like Baldur’s Gate, Diablo, Fallout or any
number of others. The role-playing I’m
talking about are similar, but with a few
important differences.
You play in a group most of the time.
Most games have at least 3 people playing. Then you use your imagination to
construct the action in the narrative
you’re playing, using dice to represent the
element of chance in the success or failure of your actions, to ensure everything
doesn’t become too predictable. Players
usually take the roles of the primary protagonists with one player dictating how
the rest of the world reacts in line with
the protagonist’s action.
That’s the basic gist of role-playing
games. MURPS is a society for people
to connect with one another and get
together to play games like this. While
role-playing games are at the roots of the
society, we also do a number of things associated with gaming in general. Board
games, card games, tabletop war games
such as Warhammer, are all part of the
society’s activities. We’re also keen to see
people interested in the many other types
of gaming turn up to the society.
We meet every Monday at 5pm in
E8A 188 for our casual gaming night that
is for short introductions, general board
games and card game activities. For
those interested in role-playing games,
we have a few games ready to run and
would love for you to come along.
For those interested, we have two
campaigns running, a Pathfinder game
that is essentially Dungeons and Dragons set on the high seas. The other small
game we have is from an independent
system, called Dogs in the Vineyard. It’s
essentially a Western Inquisition.
MURPS can be found on Facebook
and as Murps_list in Yahoo Groups.
Jonathan Love
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Safety on Campus
University security at Macquarie
University provides a range of services
to ensure that it is a safe environment for
staff and students. The university makes
several recommendations on how everyone can stay safe on campus:
* Keep to well lit areas during the
hours of darkness - these are the major
walkways within the University.
* Try to walk in groups or pairs, arrange to walk home with friends.
* Never take shortcuts at night through
parks or vacant lots.
* Report any lights that aren’t working
to University Security.
* Use the free Security Shuttle Bus
Service in the evenings. It operates on
weeknights between 6pm and 11pm
during semester.
* Use the Security Escort service. Escorts are available everyday of the
year.
* Don’t leave personal property/valuables in unlocked areas/venues.
The Security Service operates 24
hours per day, seven days per week
throughout the year. The Security Office
is located in Building C1A on Macquarie Drive.
WSPA Launches
Nationwide Humane
Campus Challenge to help
end live animal export
The World Society for the Protection of
Animals (WSPA) is calling on students
to get involved in a Humane Campus
Challenge to help end the live animal
export trade.
Jessica Borg, Campaigns Manager
from WSPA said, “The Humane Campus
Challenge is a month long inter-University competition, encouraging students
to send letters to their MPs, urging them
to end the cruel practice of live animal
exports.”
“The University that submits the
most letters during May will score $500
towards a campus party or event, with
an additional prize for student leaders
to thank them for their hard work,” she
concluded.
WSPA is currently accepting registrations from students who want to
coordinate activity and get their campus involved; with students from six
Universities already on board – University of Sydney, University of Adelaide,
Southern Cross University, Australian
National University, Monash University,
and University of Wollongong.Prospective Humane Campus Challenge student
leaders should register by visiting blog.
humanechain.org where they’ll receive
more information and a helpful support
kit for the challenge.
Free round-the-clock
support for students
Macquarie University offers a
health and wellbeing service as part
of its commitment to enhancing your
university experience. Recently there
have been some improvements to
make it easier for all students to access this support. The round-the-clock
service will now provide 24-hour telephone support to all free of charge,
with staff ready to help with any health
and medical concerns, including
emergency help, psychological help
and counseling, security and safety
concerns, as well as accommodation
and transport queries. Call 1800 CARE
MQ or 1800 227 367
Student Discounts on
Software
Students Discounts is Australia’s
largest specialist education software
retailer, serving thousands of students,
teachers and educational institutions
each year and all over the country. It
offers low-priced discounted software
to tertiary students. Products are available on their online store, and include
major brands such as Microsoft, Adobe, Autodesk, Wacom, Logitech, Carel.
Available products offered to students
at discounted prices also books, bags,
backpacks, computer accessories, laptop bags and more. To browse through
their online store visit www.studentdiscounts.com.au
Chiropractor Services for
Students and Staff
Macquarie University’s Chiropractic
Outpatient Clinics and Research Centres
specialise in the diagnosis and treatment
of a wide range of health problems. Our
student interns provide service to over
20,000 patients per year. The interns are
fully supervised by registered senior chiropractors when treating patients. As a
student or staff member you have access
to Chiropractic treatment at a discounted
rate. Chiropractic is the third largest primary health care profession today and
chiropractors focus on the importance of
the body structures and how they influence your health. Conditions benefiting
from Chiropractic treatment include:
Arm and leg pain, back pain, disc
problems, headaches and migraines,
knee problem, neck pain, sciatica, shoulder pain, tension.
If you are experiencing any of these
difficulties there is no better time to find
out the cause and get treatment. Sort out
whatever aches or nagging Chiropractic
concerns you may have by taking advantage of this great service.
Locations
Macquarie Park
Suite 231/ Level 2, 299 Lane Cove Road,
North Ryde NSW 2113
9850 1350
Eastwood
Shop 24, Eastwood Village Square
1 Lakeside Drive, Eastwood NSW 2122
9858 3723
Summer Hill
40 Lackey Street, Summer Hill NSW 2130
9797 0960
Newspaper Editorial Team
Editor Valerie Wangnet
Sub Editor Anita Wehbe
Sub Editor Philip Jucker
Chief Designer Cam Carnell
Designer Elizabeth Hamilton
Designer Nathan Li
Advertising Marcelo Villarroya
Campus Engagement Sarah Dagg
Editor in Chief Rosie King
Editorial Review Board
Kirsten Cumming
Pem Khan
Zoe O’Rourke
Tahnia Rahman
Tim Quinn
Email grapeshotmq@gmail.com
Phone 9850 7605
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in Grapeshot are not
necessarily those of the publication
team. Macquarie University staff, the
Macquarie University student body
or Campus Experience staff.
The publication team acknowledges the Darug Aboriginal people
as the traditional custodians of the
land on which Macquarie University
is situated.
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
7
WHAT’S ON CALENDAR
Mon May 2
MacBuddhi Mondays returns
State Library of NSW @ Macquarie
Street, Sydney
5:30 PM – 8:00 PM
Buddhist speaker and meditation
Sun May 8
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM in the Boyd Room
(building C10A)
Mother’s Day
Thu May 13
Meet 12:45pm by the Big Clock
outside U@MQ Shop (Central
Courtyard)
Mon May 9
Black Friday Food Photography
and Styling Workshop
Tue May 3
New York indie pop band The Drums
are set to return to Australian shores
in April/May, performing at the
Groovin The Moo five stop regional
festival extravaganza and in their own
headline shows around the country.
Department of Environment
and Geography seminar:
Should archaeologists be
equipped with time machines?
Professor Simon Holdaway from
the Department of Anthropology at
the University of Auckland will use
research results to discuss the types of
inferences that archaeologists make
about the past, how Aboriginal people
dealt with the last 2000 years of
climate and associated environmental
change, and how the passage of time
is critical for understanding human
environmental interaction.
The Drums
Metro Theatre @ 624 George Street,
Sydney
Fri May 14
United States Ambassador Jefrrey
Bleich will address the topic:
The United States and Australia’s
Commitment to Human Rights in the
Asia-Pacific.
To book visit the ahrcentre website
Fri May 6
Wed May 11
All Aboard Salsa Cruise Sydney
Harbour
LaserFest Sydney lecture:
Lasers - from the laboratory to
the community
Sat May 7
Kyuss Lives
John Garcia, Brant Bjork and Nick
Oliveri are reuniting Kyuss and are
set to unleash their desert rock fury
across Australian in 2011
Grapeshot Newspaper Issue 4, May 2, 2011
The Muse, Building C, Ultimo College,
Harris Street, Ultimo
AHRCentre Annual Lecture w/
US Ambassador Bleich
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
To book visit www.rhythmboat.com.
au Whether foodie or photographer this
workshop is for you
5.30 PM -8.15 PM
Tyree Room, John Niland Scientia,
University of New South Wales
Rhythmboat Cruises Darling Harbour,
Price $69.00
Are you passionate about food and
photography? Love devouring culinary
magazines for their stunning images of
sumptuous dishes? Or already taking
photos of your creations but not quite
getting the right effect?
Tue May 10
Building E6A, Room 102, Macquarie
University
Salsa Cruise Sydney Harbour includes a Dance Lesson - Buffet
Dinner - DJ - and a Dynamic Floor
Show. Offering only the most
POWERFUL and most POPULAR
Latin dance styles and rhythms, in a
jaw dropping unforgettable show.
8
Metro Theatre @ 624 George Street,
Sydney
Society for the Study of Early
Christianity Annual Conference
In Paul’s letters to the Corinthians
we see an early Christian society
dealing with factionalism arising from
varied interpretations of the Christian
message. At the same time, Christianity
was trying to define itself within the
context of a cosmopolitan Roman city.
Each year we are honored to
have international guest speakers.
In addition we also invite local
academics, papyriologists and
historians to speak at our conference.
Please register your attendance to
physout@mq.edu.au
This a free event and light refreshments
will be available
For information on this and other events
celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the
laser go to www.physics.mq.edu.au/
laserfestsydney
8:30 AM - 5:45 PM, Macquarie
University, Building X5B, Theatre 1
Wed May 12
The Ku-ring-gai Male Choir is one
of the oldest performing male voice
choirs in Australia
30 Years with Berkeley Editions
30 years ago Robyn Berkeley started
publishing Fine Art Limited Edition
Prints, with Arthur Boyd as her first
artist. Now the successful business
promotes the works of 21 different
notable Australian artists including
Charles Blackman, David Boyd, Garry
Shead, Margaret Olley and Fred Cress
Sun May 15
Music in May - Ku-ring-gai Male
Choir
Macquarie Theatre, Macquarie
University
2:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Bookings essential.
Please visit awc.mq.edu.au/events/
community/default.aspx?eventid=2241