RICK'S REEL RECOMMENDATIONS | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Ricky Lai (he/him) | @rickthelai  & Letterboxd   | Film Columnist Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988) Don’t get mixed up here: I don’t mean ‘ Chocolat ’ (2000). Not the shlocky rom-com starring Juliette Binoche as a travelling chocolatier who brings love back to rural France with the power of sweeties, the DVD which you find on op-shop shelves next to Hayley Westenra CDs. I mean the lesser-known ‘Chocolat’ , about a nati

SPORTS | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Luke Fisher (he/him) | @lukefish7__  | CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST My first encounter with the concept of climate change was seeing the bumper stickers on my primary school bible studies teacher’s van. Climate change is just a load of hot air. It’s always been hot. Aged seven, I didn’t have a clue what these meant. I honestly thought the first one was nothing more than a scientific fact. But fast forward 14 years (good god), and the phrases

FEATURE | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Elise Sadlier (she/her) | @elise_sadlier | Contributing Writer Illustration by Skye Lunson-Storey  (she/they/ia)   | @uku_rangi E tōku Whenua,  Do you hold a place for me still?  My ancestors are pressed into the soft moss of the Mangaoporo Valley I circle home like the Kārearea always swooping, never landing It is the east and you are the sun.  I spent a month of my summer this year at home, in Gisborne. While I was there, my friend

FEATURE | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Sanskruti Banerjee ( she/her) | @san._.banerjee  | Contributing Writer Here’s a peek Inside Mount Eden’s New Dessert and Drink Spot! Nestled in the heart of Mount Eden village, Kiwi Dose is a family business that is quickly becoming a new go-to spot for students and locals alike. Whether you’re looking for a quick pick-me-up between lectures, a late-night study location, a casual date spot, or simply somewhere to grab a dessert with f

FEATURE | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA AUT Ventures | @aut_ventures   |   ventures.aut.ac.nz When we think about caring for the environment, we often think about what we can see; forests, rivers, wildlife. But what if understanding the health of our whenua starts with listening? At AUT’s School of Engineering, Computer & Mathematical Sciences, researcher Dr Amin Barzegar is exploring exactly that through KōreroNet , a project that uses sound to better understand what’s happening in o

The value of physically experiencing environments FEATURE | ISSUE THREE | WHENUA Written by Polly Wenlock she/her | @p0lly2001 | Contributing Writer Australia looks to be a land of sun-baked influencers.  It looks like  rolling surf,  blue skies,  gold sand.  It looks just like the reels you scroll endlessly and wistfully on your 30-minute lunch break. But how does Australia feel?  Australia feels like sand in every crevice, under every nail.  Australia sounds like the chat

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

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

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

FEATURE | ISSUE ONE | TUAKIRI / IDENTITY Written by Vinti Shiron she/her |  @ vintishrnprod   | Contributing Writer What makes  your identity? The way you dress, the food you eat, the hobbies and interests that accumulate as you age. When we are young, we start collecting each element of our identity.  From ma, I inherit my need to create and my strong intuition. From pops, my wit and logical thinking. Everyone I have ever met, and everything that I have consumed, has left a

FEATURE | HANGA / CRAFT Written by Rose Scott (she/her) | @aut_ventures   | AUT Ventures For students, identity is rarely set in stone. School is a space of development – where who you’ve been begins to loosen, and who you’re becoming starts to take shape through not only learning, but community. For some, that journey unfolds naturally. For others, it becomes something lived and learned. Poi+ was born from this in-between. Founded by Joe Patuki (Tainui, Ngāpuhi), Poi+ is a m

FEATURE | WRITING | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Anonymous | Contributing Writer ‘What if you hate me?’ she asks playfully, pacing while on the phone with a stranger. ‘And what if you hate me?’ he asks in return, matching her energy. So in the spur of the moment, she says yes, thinking, what’s the worst that could happen? He picks her up from the train station, getting out and opening the car door for her. The ride is tentative - small talk filling the spaces where silence