NEWS | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n  | Associate Editor Have you ever felt a chill at the back of your neck while walking through campus late at night? Felt like you were being watched, but knew nobody was there? Heard a whisper and a giggle far too shrill for a uni-aged student? What you’re experiencing is probably the wind, but there’s no fun in that. Every stonemason who laid the first bricks of our tertiary education buildin

EDITORIAL | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Tashi Donnelly she/her | @tashi_rd | Editor Haere mai, welcome to issue number two. Here we will celebrate the voices, experiences, and perspectives that make our community vibrant and diverse. That’s right, we’re covering Spirituality. The existence of the human spirit, or soul, is a hot topic of debate. While some atheists question the existence of the soul, theologians study its divine nature, and agnostics rema

COLUMN | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by The Hot Lesbian she/they | @hot_lesbian_initiative I’ve always had a complicated relationship with religion. When I was younger, I saw no issue with my somewhat religious upbringing. But as I grew older, the shadows became harder to ignore. As a lesbian, I carried an internal battle with internalised homophobia, something that is hard to unlearn in spaces that quietly (or loudly) tell you that you are wrong. I think t

COLUMN | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written By László Reynolds he/him | @laszloreynolds | Contributing Writer Aries Resist the urge to postpone everything, but also refrain from sprinting ahead too quickly with your tasks; you will simply be forced to go over them again. Ignore half-lies exchanged between hidden enemies. If you like someone, let them make the first move. Deeply scrutinise everything coming your way; the World is trying to rebirth itself through yo

FEATURE | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written By Maira she/her | Contributing Writer I am so lucky The universe has my back Everything always works out for me If you’ve ever ventured into the world of ‘manifesting’, then you’ll probably recognise these phrases as daily affirmations at the heart of Lucky Girl Syndrome. Being a ‘lucky girl’ is more than just wishing something will happen — it’s about intentionally maintaining a positive mindset in your everyday life.

BREAD & CIRCUSES | COLUMN | SPORTS | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Luke Fisher (he/him) | @lukefish7__  | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST “I believe sport is actually a chance for us to have other human beings push us to excel.” Though I can’t say I’ve ever recited a line from a poem as part of a football drill, this quote resonated with me. It felt like a suitable one to start this piece with, not least because I look like every student from the Dead Poet’s Society put togeth

POETRY | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Elise Sadlier she/her | @elise_sadlier | Contributing Writer the lord is my shepherd  I shall not want  he leads the lamb to the table  you taught me how to pray  the very act of wanting  how to fold my limbs in like a paper crane backhanded me when I used the Lord’s name in vain still  I would build a shrine to you if I could  I think you’d rather I be split  sticky figs  broken bread  you say that good and evil hav

ARTS | ISSUE TWO | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written By Noesheen Sherreeze Buksh she/her | @bon._.bon._.908   | Contributing Writer My art practice examines mortality. Through my interpretation of the apocalypse, my practice is shaped by my interfaith Christian-Islamic upbringing and Fijian-Indian heritage. Painting is a tool I use to escape the never-ending dread I feel in the pit of my stomach when the topic of religion and spirituality are brought up. I use the means of c

COLUMN | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Ricky Lai (he/him) | @rickthelai  on IG & Letterboxd   | Film Columnist 1.   A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956) The goal is to escape. It’s the only goal. Hours, days, and months pass while Fontaine, a captured French Resistance fighter, chips away at the door of his prison cell. Sweeping away the wood shavings on the floor, he plies the frame of his bed for a wire with which to weave a rope. Bresson is famously a director who

FEATURE | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Niwa van Leeuwen (he/him) | Contributing Writer We, the dreamers, 'neath the tide Breathing where no breath abides Nothing holds         currents fold and blend Motion neither starts nor ends Shadows winding between each braid Drowning the past, in motion made The river bends, the shadows dance  Drowning in silence, waking in trance  What continues cannot return The rivers remember not what burned In an instant, memory relieved

FEATURE | WAIRUATANGA / SPIRITUALITY Written by Stu Paul (any pronouns) | Contributing Writer I considered myself a Buddhist long before I ever realised that I was transgender. I grew up within the confines of mainstream Christianity in a family that was not particularly religious, but with a worldview that I would describe as culturally Catholic. This was a world where men were men, women were women, and queerness was an abnormality to be quietly tolerated but never celebrat