Archive for January, 2016

Reflections of a First Year

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

I’d love to say I waltzed into College on orientation day with breezy flair, but anyone with eyes would have seen my haphazard wandering and thought otherwise. Over last year, though, I  gleaned fragments of knowledge about how this place works. Thus, neatly categorised (but not referenced) I present some vital tricks I learned as a thirst first year.

FOOD

  • If it’s doughnuts for dessert, take as many as you can, in case there’s an apocalypse.
  • Be aware (as I know most of you are) that KFC is 10 minutes away should it be Fasian.
  • Just brunch.

MONEY

  • Take advantage of a good, free home-cooked meal. Note that ‘free’ is the key term here; it doesn’t have to be food, or good.
  • Don’t have a car. If you haven’t heard my $150 seatbelt story, you’re part of a very fortunate minority.

STUDY

  • For a 3am adrenaline rush, leave all your referencing til the last minute.
  • For those with more methodical habits, allow half an hour for Turnitin to receive your assessment, as College Wi-Fi is as reliable as its electricity during a storm.

SPORT

  • This is where Tuesday and Wednesday nights become the perfect procrastination aids.
  • Wearing workout gear everywhere won’t fool people into thinking you’re a hard-core-gym-junkie (I may have tried this already).

SOCIALISING

  • (See first dot-point under ‘Sport’)*
  • ‘Shower parties’ seem to be intrinsic to on-campus culture, although I’m still unsure about what actually defines one. I do know, however, that it varies greatly between Watson and Ella.

And finally, sharing is caring. I’ve learned that girls who play together, stay together. Girls who also eat, sleep, study, cry, laugh, stress, dress and pray together form a bond that comes very close to sisterhood. (I can’t really account for the intricacies of Watson bonding, but I’m thinking along the lines of in-house haircuts and off milk). Something else I’ve learned is the beauty of relationships. Marital ones, if you want to ‘pass’ Avondale, but more importantly, real friendships, and I am so glad to have found these in my #avondalexp.

*It’s a given that “Ball is [social] Life”

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-Sharna Kosmeier

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Speed Bumps

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Throughout our entire lives, every single one of us will encounter speed bumps. Life is full of them. Each of us will just be cruising along, living our lives, we’ll go away for a week, and upon our return we will discover that there are now brand-new speed bumps in our way.

They will be erected out of nowhere and continue to stand obnoxiously on our path, constantly slowing us down. What once used to be a beautiful, relaxing and easy road to take will never be the same again.

There will not just be one speed bump either, life will always throw numerous speed bumps at you and the excessive amount that arises from the ground will be maddening. Some may try to go around their speed bumps but life is renowned for then putting bigger, tougher and more dangerous obstacles in their way, such as pylons.

It is a guarantee that you will complain about these newly built nuisances to your friends, colleagues and families and why shouldn’t you? They are an unnecessary disturbance to your once-peaceful life.

The good news is that most speed bumps are not in your life forever. While they are difficult to move and stand permanently obstructing us, one of two things will happen. We will either get used to their presence or after a few years we’ll move away from them. We’ll leave them behind for new people to discover, people that don’t know better for they don’t know a life without these particular speed bumps.

Fortunately in life, the more of these difficulties we face the more resilient we become and the next set of speed bumps will be easier to face. Personally, I thank Avondale for the many ways it has prepared me to face life’s speed bumps.

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– Jarrod Cherry

Jarrod is now finished and would like to be remembered, more than anything else, for starting the now-diagonal parking in Watson car park.

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Canberra and Clicktivism [The Micah Challenge]

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

“You missed the talent show? Why? It was so good!”

“I was in Canberra.”
“Canberra?! Why would you go to Canberra? Meeting some politicians were you?”

“Well, actually yes.”
12202213_10206981912563041_569155970_n (1)That’s exactly what I was doing. From October 10-12, my IPDS class and I were privileged enough to attend Voices for Justice, a Christian conference devoted to lobbying politicians into action for global development. It was every IPDS student’s dream: a conference full of experts in the field of development work who are passionate about campaigning for change.

But before I continue telling you all about this amazing weekend, let me ask you a question:

What percentage of the budget do you think we give to Australian Aid?

You may be shocked to know that currently only 0.22% of Australia’s budget is going towards aid. That’s 22 cents per $100. Shocking right?! If you’re anything like the majority of Australians in a recent study, you probably thought we gave 16%. And if you thought that, like those in the study you probably also thought that was too much and we should only be giving about 12%.* When you compare these numbers, it’s obvious Australia isn’t doing what it should be by international standards, or what it’s citizens think it should be doing. After all, 0.22% is a long way from the 12% most Aussies think we should be giving.

Since 2000, the international community came together to fight poverty and significant progress was achieved. But it’s not enough. Australia made an international commitment to give 0.7% of our Gross National Income in Aid as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are the second wealthiest country in the world and have the fourth lowest level of debt among aid-giving nations, but still we aren’t giving that 0.7% we agreed to give! We are only giving a measly 0.22% after our recent aid cuts of $700 billion+. This means that many similar countries are donating three to four times more than us. That’s embarrassing. It’s not fair to take aid from those who need it.

I’m sorry to hit you with so many facts, but they are just that: facts. Ignoring them won’t change them. You may be sitting there disheartened and wondering what you could possibly do to help. This is where the justice conference comes in (remember that thing I was talking about before I beat you over the head with all those facts?). Instead of sitting around feeling dejected, we were gimicah 3ven the power to take action. Over Saturday and Sunday we attended workshops, participated in simulation activities and prepare
d to meet our local MPs. Yes, we had scheduled meetings to visit politicians in the hope that they would campaign on our behalf in Parliament. We were given the power to try and influence the way this country is headed and to help those who need it most. It also provided a great way to meet Christians from all over Australia, who like me, take Micah 6:8 seriously; seeking to “act justly and to love mercy”.

It was great to find some validation for my degree, something I think we can all use at Avondale, and to campaign for something I am passionate about. The Micah Challenge helped me to confirm why I am studying IPDS. You don’t have to go to Canberra or study IPDS, though, to advocate for those who don’t have a voice. Just don’t be a clicktivist.

SUBSCRIPT: Thanks to my IPDS class who provided thoughtful talking points to help me with creating this article

*Hanson, F. (2011), “Australia and the World,” Lowy Institute for Foreign Policy, p.1

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– Ashley Steele

Tell Ashley your birthday once and chances are she’ll remember it, even years later.

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