Hi everyone,
Welcome to Issue 11. We literally have two issues left for the semester, which I think is genuinely insane. How time flies!
I’m pleased to say that this issue seems to have a bit of a theme, though it was completely unplanned. Our chunkiest piece is Jesse and Gryffin’s feature on concussions on Aotearoa, which is a bit of a deep dive into how concussions have been regarded in our sporting industry historically and up until today. In culture, I would like to welcome new contributor Saraia, who has done a fantastic (albeit opinionated) job on “decoding” common political speech. Additionally, though I can’t tell you who wrote it, we have a pretty freaky/gross story from someone who got hit up on Tinder by a famous NZ celebrity. In news, we have some heavy hitters from Stella and myself. We consider Grant’s announcement to “review” the Palo Alto partnership, as well investigate the University taking down some of OSJP’s posters calling out the partnership due to a “misunderstanding”.
If you’re still wondering what the theme is, then I need you to think very abstractly. All these pieces speak to things that are all in our heads. Jesse and Gryffin show how concussions physically affect the brain, and Sararia points out the subtle manipulation politicians engage in, influencing your perception of the world. Talking to a celeb on Tinder is a bit of a mindfuck, and the article runs through the mixed thoughts and morals that the author felt. The Palo Alto “saga” (for lack of a better word) is a game of pingpong between the University, the OUSA Executive and Staff for Palestine. It’s all left me personally feeling like there are some real mental Olympics taking place to avoid some tricky words. I don’t know if I’d say that there was an “ongoing situation” in Gaza. I think I would say “genocide”, given that’s what the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded. Again, as Sararia discusses, words influence perception.
If you want to get out of your head, I don’t blame you. You may notice that our cover is a reference to the up and cumming Capping Show, which will be kicking off on the 14th of May. And, with a name like “Scream”, I’m sure the show will give you lots of new things to worry about. So, the world’s kinda going to shit, but Capping isn’t! Hopefully, at least. Guess you’ll just have to wait for our behind the scenes and review content coming up soon.
Get your tickets anyways though. Who gives a fuck what Critic thinks? It’s probably just all in our head.
