Voluntarty Student Unionism

So, I mentioned a while ago that I might just write a post on Voluntary Student Unionism. Well I’ve actually decided to give it a go. At this point these are my fairly basic thoughts. If you think I might have the details wrong please let me know. And as a type of aside – I find it difficult to believe either what the Union and Student guild or what the government is saying, so tell me the advantages of VSU.

One of the things I remember throughout my days at University, firstly as a student at Wollongong, and more recently as a member of staff at the University of New South Wales, was the university publications the Tertangala, or Tharunka. These publications were written by students, about students, for students. Though a touch more left leaning than the [SM] Herald, (though, I should say the few Tharunka’s that I did read, did seem to be of a higher quality).

Secondly perhaps, campus life is the same across the board, though I have it from numerous sources that the student life at present is not simply less active and engaged political as it once was, but also less communal. Students now spend as much or more time off campus than on. [Would like to see stats about this, and are Universities less politically active than in previous years?]

In some ways it is the community aspect that VSU strikes out against; VSU as proposed by the current government makes the payment of student (Union) fees voluntary, and in doing so removes the budget from organisations who are in-effect either service providers (the food outlets, the medical services, child care), or community builders (as either the campus magazine, the band comps, the sport and other interest societies).

Does the acceptence of the policy [VSU] reflects this change; community is no longer built around activities at University, but elsewhere. Anyone want to comment here?

In some ways Universities are home to at least some of the dissent toward the government, and I can’t help but wonder if the government is simply removing the viability of dissent – reducing or removing funding from organisations that promote views counter to its own. (Hmm I feel like I’m being a cynic here – this is unlike me).

Yes, I would agree that I might not like what the student magazines present, but the solution is join, and help write articles. Comments and criticism is a huge factor in improving people’s writing. And informed dialogue, and debate help creates a great climate for growth.

Yes, I might not like the political persuasion of the Union, but they have as much a right as I do to share. (And perhaps it is worth noting when we as students agree with the government – this is something that I need to do, I need to commend politicians for making the right decisions, especially as at the moment I often tend to disagree with them).

Perhaps more problematically, I may not be able to afford the fees the University charges, I’m not as sure of the solution here, perhaps the Union should show more compassion and either reduce or waive the fees. I would also like to look at the breakdown of where the fees paid by students actually go.

But I do not think the argument that I do not use the services means that I should not pay. I rightly pay for roads, hospitals and schools I do not use. I can’t coherently argue that I shouldn’t pay my taxes. This seems to be a somewhat selfish mentality, if I can be blunt. I feel that from those who have much, much should be expected, especially to those who don’t have much. (I think this is prevalent throughout or society – especially in how we look at the ‘refugees’ coming to our shores, largely on the hope of a better life. Why should where you are born determine whether you live or die. The life we have, we have not earned; the opportunities and choices we have, we did not earned, therefore we should be generous to those whose circumstances of life deny them a life of the same opportunities. The fact that there might be sponges should not lead us to stop being generous. Sorry, /rant

Campus life has changed, and it will continue to change should this legislation pass our parliament, (which come July is inevitable). I’m not sure how the campus will change, and maybe this change is for the better. There will be disadvantages to the new system, but I suspect we will learn to adapt to these changes.

Cultural Psychology

Found this interesting piece that builds off the article I referenced on Saturday. It talks about the movies as the dreams of society, and Psychiatrists have been “reading” modern films such as Mystic River, The Life and Times of Peter Sellars, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars.

I thought the reading of Mystic River was interesting. I saw the film earlier in the year, it was quite a disturbing film, and echoing in part the article I thought it detailed the responses of four characters to trauma, and the cycle of trauma. And that is the beauty of the median, you can speak to your audience on many levels, be it that people can enjoy the film, as entertainment, or read it as a text reflecting on the society which created it.

But to a degree as well each of these psychologists in the article are coming to the film with a particular mindset and are likely to read into the film their schemas for seeing the world. It perhaps is also worth noting that film, like music, because of the range or emotional experiences they deal with, are of benefit to therapists and practitioners – though I do wonder how the professionals view the way they are shown in the films.

In spite of perhaps these adventurous readings of some films, I found the article make some interesting points about film, and its role in society, perhaps as an expression of the dreams of society. I would say they definitely reveal points about the society in which we left, but how much exactly I’m not really sure of. I found the point about Germany seeking to deal with its past through the arts quite interesting.

As Kathleen commented, is the absent father in more prevalent in films now than it was previously? I don’t think I remember many films dealing with this topic – which I why I think I was struck by Finding Nemo. However after thinking about this – over the past little while films that I remember dealing with Fathers – Father’s Day / Liar Liar / Sleepless in Seattle and further back Kramer vs Kramer. But do any of these really centre on fatherhood? Of these I think the one that speaks mostly about fatherhood is Finding Nemo. (Are there are other recent films in which the leading character is told what it means to be a father?)

Anyway, sounds like worthwhile stream at the conference. Would have been worth hearing a little bit more about what they said.

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Frustrating watching my Swans play on the weekend. Not only did they get thumped on the scoreboard, but they go a mouthful during the call and in the press. I’m desperately hoping that they would win over the weekend – its Carlton, in Melbourne, but given the way Sydney has been playing a win is no guarantee.

Here’s wishing my dear brother and sister in Christ; Guan and M, a fantastic relaxing and God-filled time away in the US. I'm looking forward to catching up with Guan for lunch tomorrow, and hearing all about his trip when he returns.

Another unrelated point, I emailed the four members about the immigration bill, all of whom responded. Found out via the news today that the issue was debated today, and they resolved to debate it again in the next few weeks, while not the resolution I was hoping for, it is a start.

A needle in the haystack

Finally some movement. Since 2001, I have been horrified of the leadership of my country. Seeing the dehumanisation of some of the weakest amongst us left me dissappointed and feeling betrayed. Last week we are at last seeing glimpses of hope for dialogue about how we detain those or seek to "illegally" enter or country.

I admire the courage of the three Liberal MPs seeking to introduce a private members bill to begin dialogue to reform our immigration system. Bruce Baird, Petro Geogriou and Judi Moylan, I admire your courage. I admire the fact that you have stood up and said that it is time to debate the issue. [And it is my belief that a judicial enquiry into Australia's policy of Mandatory Detention is necessary].

This is a struggle of small steps and this week, the Australian Liberal Party will debate these issues. So I ask that you give consideration to this, and if you agree that the current policy that sees children locked up is inhumane, write to these liberal MPs or your local MP, if they are Liberal. (The Liberal Party is discussing this on Tuesday). [I will update this with a link to a paper written by the Social Issues Executive (Sydney Anglican Discose)]

I was dissappointed to find that both John Howard and Kim Beazey saw fit to see a vote on these bills is not a vote of conscience, say what?

But the needle is this. I disagree with Howard on a lot of things. But a soundbyte from yesterday, in which he was asked about the verdict in the Corby trial, and he said that he hoped that Australians would accept the verdict, saying that we would not like it if another country interferred in our judicial process, so we should not interfere in the Indonesian judicial process. To a degree this rings true for me.

I don't want to say much about the Corby trial, and verdict, save this. I have never seen such a hysterical outburst from the media and public to an Australian caught for drug-trafficking. Here is today's editorial from the SMH. Which makes the point, far more eloquently than I. (Incidentally Corby is one of 155 Australian's (including two on deathrow) accused or found guity of drug-trafficking).

Another editorial, comments on Immigration, and Corby.

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To change the tack, I did manage to wake up for the Champions League Final between Liverpool, and AC Milan. Boy was it worth it, at halftime Liverpool were all but out, trailling 0-3. While having half an eye watching the game, I'd started doing other things, my full attention gradually returned as in the space of 7 minutes Gerrard, Smicer, and Alonso all scored making it 3-3, setting up a gripping final period. The rest is history, the match went to penalties, and Liverpool won. Too bad, at this point they are not able to defend the title.

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And a different sort of article, from the Weekend Herald


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UPDATED: Here's a link to the latest paper from the Anglican Social Issues Executive

Blog-roll

Well, I've gone and done it. I've added a few more people to my blogroll. Huh? belongs to a friend of mine Melissa. I met Melissa through Beach Mission, and I value her friendship, and I am soo encouraged watching her minister to the littlest amongst us, a valuable ministry which I simply am not good at. Keep shining out like a light in the world Mel.

I've also added Lara. Lara, I don't know IRL, but I've enjoyed reading her blog, and her comments on my brothers blog. So welcome Lara, and God Bless you too.

Thanks to Guan, I actually watched Dr Strangelove: Or, How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Well worth the view :). One of the classics on my too see list, now with a strikethrough.

Owing to an early morning this Thursday, to watch two great soccer teams meet on a football field in Istanbul its time to head to bed. (For those going "What the?"; this Thursday is the Champions League Final between AC Milan and Liverpool, should be fun, even at four-thirty am) :)

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‘.. we crash into each other for our human interaction …'

On Friday, I saw a very different film. Crash will be up there as one of the best of the year. Crash attempts to tackle the theme of racism head on. While not preaching; through introductions to a series of people and events gradually intertwoven into a story we are shown the complex web of feelings tied up in race. The film is set in the city of Los Angeles, perhaps a city through which the story can be drawn into our experiences (Sydney is becoming close to the melting pot of cultures that LA already is).

The characters are breathtakingly real, and the stories are beautifully woven together into a some scenes which will reasonate. It is perhaps not a pleasant film to watch, but well worth the effort. Surprisingly good performances from Sandra Bullock, and the ensemble cast. The film moves relatively quickly as the characters weave through each others stories, set over a period of 36 hours.

Definitely worth a (second) look.

Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith.

Ok, here's a review of the new (and final) Star Wars film - their are some spoilers below.

**SPOILERS**

To be honest I was quite disappointed by this film. It did promise a great deal, and in terms of its special effects it is hard to fault the film. But I simply don’t think it lived up to any of the first few films, or far more importantly, the promise of the story. The dialogue was weak, and the acting not much stronger. I groaned almost as much in this movie as in the second – and often in the crucial scenes for plot development.

In plot the motivation for Anakin to turn his back on the Jedi simply wasn’t credible. Love, it seems was the motivation for Anakin to turn away from the Jedi. Sure he wasn’t trusted by the Jedi, and craved the power the Sith could offer him, but it was simply for the love, and life of Padme that he would turn to the Dark Side. Love incidentally is what revealed the good in him at the end of Return in the Jedi, love caused him kill his Master. Perhaps this goes to highlight the complexity of love as an emotion, and perhaps “the blindness” it causes. As I read the AMS review, I didn’t quite get, and don’t get how she has cast Lucas as anti Christian as he linked evil [Vader] and Christian mythology?

It seemed in the blink of an eye, Anakin went from accusing the Emperor of treason, to declaring the he would serve him. It was too quick, for the Jedi he was, (or promised to be) to turn at the drop of a hat. It didn’t work.

There were other issues. I still find it quite hard to except that Leia is the child of Padme and Anakin. Yes it is possible, but I don’t see the steely resolve of the Princess who would stand up to Darth Vader in Star Wars.

I find it hard to believe that the Emperor did not know that Padme was pregnant. For a man who is supposed to have the power he did, to be as blind as he was, it doesn’t quite work. What do you think??

It is not that much comfort to say this is the best of the three, it promised much, but delivered very little.

21st Century Relationships / World: “Un42n8”

Among a few articles that grabbed me over the course of the weekend was a piece by Megan Gressor talked about mobile phones being the substitute for meaningful communication. In her articles not only did she mentioned people being fired via SMS, people asking others out, or dumping them, but also how she received news that a friend “Un428lY took [their life] 2Day”. Eek.

Communication in this day and age appears to have been reduced to almost short strings of characters. Will we see “The Collected SMS and E-mail’s of (insert famous writer here)?

In a sense I get it. The phone is liberating – it increased the distance between us, and rejection. The phone is changing in the manner of our interactions, the mobile also allows us to be late - we say: “Will B L8, CU Soon”.

To quote from the article: “So we retreat behind our electronic barricades, tuned in, but turned off and unable to react”.

This is modern emotion - filtered through the screen, passed on strings of alpha numeric symbols.

I turned the page; and I found another poignant piece, detailing how, even in spite of the prosperity we are supposed to be feeling we live in a climate of fear. McDonald quotes a study which details how children in the 90s report higher levels of anxiety than child psychiatric patients did in the 1950s.

Perhaps this is because the world feels more dangerous, perhaps because we feel more isolated, insignificant, or impotent to cause change. McDonald talks about how though technology promised to make us more connected, instead, we email and SMS - not talk; we (I) chat on the internet; people can watch “reality” TV to view how people relate. Interestingly today we have more one-person households than ever before.

Community has been replaced, and we live in a disengaging, individualistic society. Richard Eckersly was quoted in the article as saying that materialism appears to create less well being, not more; our culture asks that we measure ourselves against criteria which we say is the root of the issue – materialism.

Are these challenges peculiar to our age, or is this anxiety simply normal? Two very interesting articles appearing to reveal a few truths about the 21st Century

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Highlight of the Night: The athmosphere - seeing B's R2D2 costume so well received , Y's Darth Maul effort, in winning one of the major prizes for the night(?), and an Ewok, who was also quite simply, brillant.

[Aside] A few short hours before we began our wanderings through the book of Exodus. (with Joe, as our guide, and map-maker). Great study, and discussion was had (thanks Joe) and I hope to post more thoughts from here over the weekend.

Spoiler free, Short Review: Inspite of several good moments, and a Williams score of the usual standard, it failed to live up to potential. Minor continuinity issues. Dissappointed I was.
Long Play review to come.

Though some, spoiler containing comments below, you will find.

AMS Review.

Another few related pieces grabbed me. From the Sydney Morning Herald and New York Times.

Cinema-inspired Religion [SMH]

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And in news just to hand Then Again, has won again. For the many shaking your heads as you read the last sentence, my Netball won a tense tight affair on Court Four at Moore Park. Well played team :)

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It's been a while ...

Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith

It’s now very close; the last of the Star Wars movies is out tonight, or tomorrow morning, following our bible studies wandering the wilderness of Exodus we will (minus a few members) head to the Ritz to be among the first to see Revenge of the Sith. I recalled there were murmurings of an outcry that the new Star Wars film will get a M15+ rating (For the record it got a M13+ in the US), leading some to complain, that "my kids love these films, why are you making one they can’t see". I’ll hold my verdict, suffice to say, that I commend Lucas of holding to the spirit of the film, or as he is quoted as saying:

I have to tell a story. I'm not making these, oddly enough, to be giant, successful blockbusters. I'm making them because I'm telling a story, and I have to tell the story I intended.

In terms of the film I’m apprehensively nervous, as the arc of the story is one that holds immense appeal for me, and runs counter to the plot-lines of most films. And for this reason the film is needs to be dark; darker than the Empire Strikes Back (which is the best of the franchise).

Anyway, this film could be a work of art, or sadly like TPM or AOTC, it could be terrible (in dialogue and action), In spite of the nervous apprehension I am viewing the film with, it will be a great night, largely due to the athmosphere. (The only film that could rival Star Wars for audience interaction, in a cinema was the Lord of The Rings trilogy, especially Fellowship of the Ring, and Return of the King – but even then, no-one dressed up for them).

Anyway, expect a review later this month.

A few other updates about what has been happening follow:

Last week we had a bible study dinner and in honour of our bible studies link missionaries we ate Slovenian cuisine. (Courtesy of this website)

It's also coming up to ten days that my parents have been away. They are heading away to see parts of Itay, the UK, and spend quality time with their daughter (and my sister) And, it does seem strange to say, but the next time I see my parents, we'll be in New Zealand (celebrating my Gran's 90th Birthday with family).

Its been a while since I've mentioned my beloved Swans whose last two starts amounted to two wins. :) (It would help if they kicked straighter - less nailbiting action ;) This week puts them in a peculiar away game at home against the Western Bulldogs, and their former mentor, coach Rodney Eade, so it should be quite an interesting game.

Haoran's post on storytelling reminded me of a few clippings I've cut, talking about storytelling, and Star Wars, I'll try and post some excerpts in the next little while.

I want to add that Karen's post about a writers retreat sounds like a great idea. :)

Last weekend I spent at my new churches House Party. It was great to get away (in spite of initial reluctance), and spend a weekend getting to know my brothers and sisters at my new church better.

Some thoughts on “Mission”

I was prompted via reading Karen’s thoughts on mission and my brother’s follow-up to it to post a little of my own thoughts.

A lot of what they said resonated with me. I recall not so long ago my old church had a group from either Morling or SMBC College at our church in Wollongong doing a Mission. As I do recall there are both positives and negatives to this involvement. I wonder about the post mission impact the church will have. How effective will the mission by if those who build relationships with the regulars leave after one week.

I also am not a huge fan of “big events”, like Harvest Crusades. Which in the worst case without much follow-up produces conversions to an emotional state. To elaborate I remember as a “counsellor” seeing people get up from their seats and stream down to the floor, I remember the atmosphere, as Crystal Lewis, sang this beautiful song, people where in tears, perhaps being convicted of their sin for the first time, convicted of their need for a saviour for the first time. In a strictly human sense, without proper follow-up, and perhaps even with follow-up, what we see is seeds perhaps falling on the thorny ground, and as the emotion of the night goes away, they struggles and trials of life choke the Gospel out.

Don’t mishear me though – I do not think that these are limited to solely occurring at these big events, or that conversion is our work. But I do think we need to be careful, and or organised in how we follow people up. As one of the themes that I keep coming back to, is the importance of relationship in “evangelism”. I remember countless testimonies that include or began with the fact that one of their friends was different. A relationship existed that gave a context to the message, and I think that this is a crucial thing. In how we think about evangelism and mission, we must consider how do we build relationships between the church and the wider community. I think that’s better than having strangers sharing the gospel. I guess that’s another thing that I keep thinking about is that when we speak about overseas work we speak of the importance of raising up nationals to be the teachers and leaders of the future.

I’ve been struck again over the past few weeks, as the Revue is advertised, and a rally about VSU [Something I could definitely post on] was held, about the handing out of leaflets. I really felt imposed upon, and at the same time, in the past I have not felt too bad about handing out the Christian fliers. And to my mind there’s no difference, and should we worry about the litter, or how the fliers get treated once we let go of them?

I’m not sure really what I think about walk up; I think it is not something I feel particularly comfortable at. It is not something that I feel I’m particularly good at. And perhaps I should leave this to those who are gifted at this, and use the gifts I have?

Hmm, I think I’ll leave it here for comments.

Radar?

This week I caught this article when I visited the Radar website. The article is not published in the paper, but was available to have a look at online. My Brother incidentally also published his thoughts.

I doubt that Jack Marx believes depression doesn’t exist. I think the take home message of the article is that depression is over diagnosed and drugs are over-prescribed. The article is written to tell us that difficult behaviour is diagnosed as a psychological disorder.

Another point of note in the article is today, we look for all sorts of excuses to explain our behaviour. This is not new: the very first excuse “It was the Women you put here with me, see Gen 3. But today – it’s the drugs, it’s my parents, it’s my culture, it’s the suburb I live in, it’s my peers, it’s the fact that no one warned me, or it’s simply an inability to take responsibility for my own actions.

I found the tone of the article very hard to take. No, I am not suffering from depression, I know people who do, and who have. Many people are likely to look at them and say, get over it, and the article does nothing to dissuade their friends from this course of action. It is also counter productive as it insinuates that those who are depressed not only choose this state, but also are proud of it.

I would challenge Jack too on happiness. Happiness, or Joy is an extremely useful tool for the medical profession (Patch Adams is but one example here, also think of the visits of well-known sport stars to hospital words – there are pages and pages of the positive effects of happiness and laughter to patients).

It was quite an interesting read. Interested to hear what you thought if you saw the piece.

Another welcome…

Attentive eyes would have noticed a new blog listed on the blogroll. A Witty Title – is written by my brother.

I am quite grateful for the conversations that I have had with my brother over the years, he has been quite an encouragement, and has sharpened my understanding of myself and God.

I look forward to continuing to read his posts.