OPINION | TUAKIRI / IDENTITY Written by Tara Jade Bellairs (they/them) | @tara_bellairs_portfolio | Contributing Writer In Aotearoa New Zealand, February is Pride Month; a month to celebrate being LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual). However, LGBTQIA+ folk may find that Pride Month feels different this year. A feeling of worry. A feeling of loneliness. A feeling that the sense of pride in being LGBTQIA+ is starting to fade

RICK'S REEL RECOMMENDATIONS | COLUMN | TUAKIRI / IDENTITY Written by Ricky Lai (he/him) | @rickthelai on IG & Letterboxd | Film Columnist We're All Going To The Worlds Fair (Jane Schoenbrun, 2021) Spirit of the Beehive (Víctor Erice, 1973) The infallible tale of Mary Shelley’s ‘ Frankenstein ’ has seen a well-deserved refresh in the people’s consciousness since it was resurrected last Halloween season by Guillermo Del Toro, the monster-lovin’ sweetheart. As much as I wa

KOTAHITANGA | COLUMN | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written & illustrated by Hirimaia Eketone (they/them) | @hiri_music | Te Ao Māori Editor He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. What is the most important thing in the world? The people, the people, the people. I’m struggling to kōrero about the future when global and local events keep driving us further down as a community into the depths of despair. Usually at the end of the year I find myself in a reflec

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

NEWS | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Mila Van Der Plas (she/her) | @mila.vdp | News Editor Illustration by Ann Mariya Shammy (she/her) | Contributing Illustrator With 2025 in sight, New Zealand students are bracing themselves for the uncertainty of 2026, where keeping down part-time work is the only means of making it through life when they finish school. The fantasy of completing uni straight into a safe, well-paid job is now officially off the table. Instead, most studen

EDITORIAL | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Editor-in-Chief Illustration by Stella Roper (they/she) | @dodofrenzy | Arts Editor When I began volunteering across the road at 95bFM in 2021, copies of Debate were strewn across various coffee tables, couches, and desks. They were bought over by various AUT journalism students, to be poured over by a little baby Liam in their last year of college while they poorly wrote the news bulletins

FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Corey Fuimaono (he/him) | Contributing Writer Illustrated by Vik Sazhina (she/her) | Contributing Illustrator It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in creating our own press. It’s time for more independent media, run by people like you and me. Events over the last few weeks have convinced me that platforms are falling victim to constant pressures so easily: be it internal finances, government crackdowns, or by forces that hol

FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Sara McKoy (she/her) | @saramckoy | Contributing Writer Illustrated by Tashi Donnelly (she/her) | @tashi_rd | Feature Editor From 30 September to 2 October, climate experts from across the globe congregated in Austria for the first ever Overshoot Conference . With the world heading almost certainly towards exceeding 1.5°C of warming, the event aims to create space for discussions on how we can go about navigating the consequences of

COMIC | FEATURE | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Comic by Maebh LEIGH McCurdy (she/her) | @leighapparently | Social Media Coordinator

AUT VENTURES | COLUMN | ANAMATA / THE FUTURE Written by Rose Scott (she/her) | Contributing Writer When you think about your future beyond being a student, it can feel like a lingering – and often intimidating – question mark. For some of us, stepping straight into a job or career doesn’t sound as exciting as the chance to build something ourselves. Whether that’s a business, an innovation, or a product, the idea of being your own boss has its own kind of spark. That’s where