RORY HUDSON
Given the recent furore over Barry O’Farrell accepting a $3000 bottle of wine (a 1959 Penfold’s Grange, to be precise), you might yourself be wondering about how to get the best wine for the best price. Also given that it’s unlikely that you’ll have a spare $3000 lying around, I’ve decided to review the four cheapest wines on offer at Aldi in the hope of discovering exactly how to avoid getting a bottle full of flavoured vinegar. MICHELLE CHENG
Nerds! Book Worms! Cat Lovers! While Kindles and e-readers are gradually growing in popularity, I still can’t resist the page turning allure of a good old fashioned book. So feast your eyes on this round up of Melbourne’s finest book purveyors: Duncan Wallace
The article “Tough love: budget on track to fix debt” by Evan Lacey which was published two weeks ago was highly misleading. It asserted that the Government had made “tough and unpopular decisions designed to repair Australia’s finances”, and whilst the government’s decisions may be tough and unpopular, they are not being made to repair Australia’s finances. It’s getting to the end of semester and I’m nervous, Equity Uncle. How do you prepare for exams? Can I have a copy of your notes?
D. I. Stressed PETER BOTROS
It’s that time of semester again when the Student Evaluation Surveys (SES) are released, and teachers beg students to take five minutes out of their precious study time to tell them how it all went. Michelle Cheng
The spotlight pick of the Human Rights and Arts Film Festival (8-22 May, ACMI), ‘The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz’ documents the life of Aaron Swartz, computer programmer and internet “hacktivist”. On January 6, 2011, Swartz was arrested by MIT Police for systematically downloading academic articles from the digital repository JSTOR, charged with two counts of wire fraud and eleven violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This Act, which was enacted by the US Government in 1986 in response to the Matthew Broderick hacker movie ‘War Games’, could arguably do with an update. These charges carried a cumulative penalty of $1 million in fines, 35 years in prison, asset forfeiture and supervised release. Two years later, following two rejected plea bargains, Swartz took his own life. William Davidson
The recent budget proved to be only slightly more popular than the Student Services Amenities Fee around MLS – and this may or may not be justified; I will reserve my judgment for the glorious battlefields of Facebook comments. Instead of adding to the all too often quite poisonous and negative atmosphere of the law school, I thought I would perhaps concentrate on one element that we could perhaps all agree is a positive (a scandalous idea I know). PETER BOTROS
The Honourable Justice Susan Kenny is Melbourne Law School’s newest judge in residence. An alumnus of the Law School, Justice Kenny now sits on the Federal Court of Australia, and has taken up the judge in residence role whilst on leave from the bench. Brett Shandler
Andrew Norton is the Higher Education Program Director at the Grattan Institute. ANDREA HENSON
Are you fed up with focaccias, sushi and the other lunch time edibles on offer along and adjacent to the wind tunnel that we all know and love as Pelham Street? Why not venture out and try something new? KRISTI HACKET
I had entered the competition and won tickets to the Indian Melbourne Film Festival, and it was with great hopes of random song and dance sequences, love at first sight, and Amitabh Bachchan that I went and saw the film Shahid. DAVEY WALLACE
In many ways, the law student library space on level three is a wonderful place. Our own private oasis with comfy cushions, adjustable, ergonomic chairs, lovely wide wooden desks, artful lamp shades and futuristic spinning chairs. There is a studious atmosphere, and less audible talking than you find in most cinemas. We even get a nice view. There is, however, trouble in paradise. And I seem to be the only one bothered by it. Evan Lacey
After weeks of speculation and leaks about the contents of this year’s budget, the Federal Government is poised to take a series of tough and unpopular decisions designed to repair Australia’s finances. As the Prime Minister stated last week, “come budget night, I suspect that there won’t be many without a potential grumble”. Peter Botros
Last week the Bayside City Council began lobbying the City of Melbourne to introduce bicycle licences and registrations. Fed up with pesky law-breaking cyclists on Beach Rd, the Bayside City Council thought this to be the best way to make cyclists accountable. Thankfully, the council’s suggestion has not been taken seriously by most transport bodies, including the RACV, and the idea has not gained much traction. Doug Porteous
Applications are now open to all MLS students join the MLS Jessup Moot Team for 2014-2015. YAOKANG WONG
The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is back and it runs from the 1st to the 11th of May 2014. This year’s festival goes beyond the traditional song and dance of Bollywood cinema to bring us a taste of contemporary Indian film. One of such films is the much acclaimed, Shahid. Last week’s issue of De Minimis sparked a furore of controversy. Behind the cloak of anonymity and in between burst blood vessels many students flocked to our website to comment. Here is a selection of comments, the full rants can be found at deminimis.com.au.
MELISSA PEACH
As law students, networking is a big part of what we do. Legal work is a ‘people’ profession, so some skill in dealing with people can be quite handy. Since the stress and obligations that come with law school can easily turn the most social butterfly into a misanthropic hermit, it can be helpful to practise socialising with strangers in order to avoid looking like a desperate lunatic during interviews or professional networking events. YAOKANG WONG
Recent events that have unfolded here at De Minimis beg me to ask our readers: What sort of community is Melbourne Law School, and what sort of community do we want it to become? ‘We’ are not just the LSS, MULR, De Minimis or another student group. ‘We’ are part of a larger MLS community, whether we like it or not. Exposing the exposure draft: a law school professor’s insights into the Racial Discrimination Act5/5/2014
BRETT SHANDLER
De Minimis speaks with Associate Professor Beth Gaze, MLS’s expert on anti-discrimination law. ANDREW FRAWLEY
The 2014 Law Ball went off without a hitch. The ballroom was filled with well-dressed people, glowing decorations and an undeniable air of excitement. The entrées were hot, the mains were delicious and guests were entertained by masterful fire twirlers while they ate. The desserts were tempting but by that time, most guests had migrated to the dance floor to let down their hair. At the end of the night the drinks were still flowing, and anyone who had any steam left hopped on the bus to the after-party. |
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