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Vol 12, Issue 6
YUMENG SUN My name is Yumeng Sun, an active and outgoing boy who comes from Xuzhou in eastern China. I am not the same as many other JD students who have arts or commerce backgrounds. I did my bachelor degree majoring in Electrical Engineering. Many people are surprised when they know that I was an engineering student. Honestly, there is a significant gap between law and engineering. In an engineering exam, each question has only one right answer, which is not going to happen in law school. There are only three students who did science or engineering before in my JD class. Our variety of backgrounds, however, gives the law school a high level of diversity. Such diversity makes Melbourne Law School a better place to live and study in. Vol 12 , Issue 6
HENRY DOW One of the very real advantages of attending Melbourne Uni is the strength of its student groups. I believe this is only amplified within the law faculty, with the calibre and ambition of students making for student societies capable of fantastic advocacy and even better events! Vol 12, Issue 6
ELIF SEKERCIOGLU Caveat lector! The following contains plot details from The Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante. My friend Laura’s Dutch translation of L’amica geniale (‘My Brilliant Friend’) has a gold sticker on the cover. It proclaims the novel to be a bestseller and also, with no context, contains the phrase #ferrantefever. We laughed about this. Was it the password to a Dutch cult of Ferrante-loving Tweeters? Not many novels get their own official hashtag. Having already self-diagnosed with Italophilia sometime prior to choosing Italian as my undergrad major, I knew I had a lowered immunity to #ferrantefever. I succumbed. Vol 12, Issue 6
STEFAN PRELEVIC and ANASTASIA TARASOVA Raising a child means something different to every parent. While there are grains of wisdom to be gleaned from your parents (stickers are a good reward for example), well-meaning busybodies and Google, there is no nice flowchart that guides you through the elements of the parenting experience. But these well-meaning busybodies have one bit of universal advice that will aid you all when, or if, you take the plunge. Being a good parent means… Being present. Vol 12, Issue 6
KAI LIU and CHI HAN YEO The Esports Enquiries: Tales of Terror from the Two Most Handsome University of Melbourne Law Students Currently Scoping out the Scene. Part One: DotA...the D stands for Death It was a rainy day when trouble walked into my office...then it became a sunny day...then it became a rainy one again...Melbourne’s funny like that. He wore a red shirt, and a badge on his chest with the words, ‘Hi, I’m Tim’. Warning signs. If I knew exactly what they were warning about maybe I would have thrown him out right there. But I didn’t. What I knew was that I was two weeks behind on my clerkship applications and I needed the distraction. Anything will do when you’re as desperate for a client as me. So I took the job. Vol 12, Issue 5
QODRATULLAH SULTANI Well, where shall I start? So much happening in Australia and the world right now that I actually find solace in law cases and funny old judgments when the world gets tough. I have to say it is tough times. It is tough growing up a minority, especially a Muslim in a Western country. The state of world affairs is not looking good. Just when we thought that things were getting better for our generation, it is becoming worse; we are seeing more hate, more wars and more famine. Vol 12, Issue 5
TILLY HOUGHTON During the obligatory call home to Mama and Papa this weekend, Dad asked me if I was enrolled to vote. I said yes, and asked, knowing full well what the answer would be, what his vote would be. “No, obviously.” Vol 12, Issue 5
VIRGINIA HOLDENSON This past month has seen our federal parliamentarians madly reading up on s44(i) of the Constitution and the cases of Sykes v Cleary and Sue v Hill, as they scramble to determine if they were legitimately elected to Parliament. As the list of potentially unlawfully elected MPs increases day by day, and the reasons and excuses become more bizarre and convoluted, Australians are looking to the High Court to provide some clarity on the matter. Vol 12, Issue 5
NICHOLAS PARRY-JONES “Oh boy, I hope I get selected!” my internal monologue chirped as I hit submit on the Linklaters Rose International Moot™. It was up to my wonderful LSS Competitions Directors of course. I blinked as my eyes readjusted to the light of the cramped seminar room, I was tired having attended Allens Yoga™ that morning, in the hopes some LSS would see me there and realise I was a good representative of the law school, but I knew all hope was lost, they'd just give the Linklaters Rose International Moot™ place to a friend of theirs, that probably had higher grades than me anyway. Vol 12, Issue 5
ELIAH CASTIELLO This semester I could not afford my textbooks. There were only two of them as well! Criminal Law and Procedure came in at $124.95 new (members save $8.75!), while Corporations could be fetched for a nifty $165.00 – if I wanted the corporations legislation bundle (because who doesn’t) it would set me back $221.39. That’s a new textbook total of $189.95 on the lower end and a whopping $346.34 as a Co-op member for the higher. Trying to find these books in the library high use section has been a nightmare – students have an understandable tendency to borrow them for months at a time. Vol 12, Issue 4
GABRIELLE VERHAGEN Content Warning: Sexual Assault Last week I made the mistake of reading an Andrew Bolt article (link below) about the University Sexual Assault Report being a “fraud”. As expected, it sent me into a rage about how the media of the socially conservative right seem to misunderstand the policy, law and symbolic justice behind the Report. So here is a feminist perspective clearing up a few things based on Andrew Bolt’s critique (for other conservative perspectives see Bettina Arndt, Mark Latham and Janet Albrechtson). Vol 12, Issue 4
SCOTT DRAPER If you’re aged 8-80 and are exposed to any news media outlet, you’ve likely become aware of the impending postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage. A few identical messages have been plastered on the social media pages of every proponent for change. The first, a caveat that the plebiscite is not a good idea for various reasons. Secondly, a call for ‘yes’ votes; that if it’s going to happen (absent a successful High Court challenge), proponents of an amendment to the Marriage Act may as well win it. Vol 12, Issue 4
WANG YUNONG My name is Wang Yunong. ‘Yunong’ means ‘Romance of Rain’ in Chinese. I chose a similar pronunciation ‘Raino’ as my English Name. But later I found that many of my Australian friends wrote down my name as ‘Reino’. Since then I knew that the concept of freedom was entrenched in Australia. Vol 12, Issue 4
JANELLE KOH When you got your mid-semester marks back, they were much lower than you expected. Lower than you would ever have expected of yourself. The people around you did better than you, and you're happy for them, but can't shake the feeling that you're better than this. (You are.) You think about the circumstances surrounding the assignments. Something had been going wrong for a while. A panic attack had hit you, early this semester. It shakes your hands still, now and again, like an old friend whose face looks different from how you remembered. But you tell yourself you can't blame the marks on that alone. You say you could've worked harder, smarter. But you won't tell yourself you should have. Vol 12, Issue 4
BEN WILSON You may or may not have had the option to complete an exam using your laptop. The University is trialling ‘Examsoft’, an application which temporarily commandeers a PC or Mac laptop, dedicating it exclusively to completing your exam from the time you launch the program to the time you click the submit button. Vol 12, Issue 3
RUBY BELL Melbourne Law School is ranked as the best law school in the Asia Pacific, and markets itself as a vibrant leader and innovator in legal scholarship. Current and prospective students are told that a Juris Doctor degree will be recognised as exceptional both in Australia and overseas, and as such be the foundation for a successful career. On social media, MLS promotes itself via campaigns such as #HumansOfMelbourneLawSchool, which attempt to highlight the diversity of the students and staff. However, it remains that MLS is not equally accessible to all. This is not due to the nature of admissions or the degree itself, but instead a failure on behalf of MLS to adequately accommodate students with disabilities. Vol 12, Issue 3
TIMOTHY SARDER Seen the Latest Great War Film? Next, See the Greatest Anti-War Film Have you got your tickets yet? Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk is out now, and amidst the fanfare, I enjoyed seeing it last weekend and immersing myself in its depiction of survival. Dunkirk, for all intents is a war film. That’s not to say it is unoriginal or frothing with oorah nationalistic militarism in the sense of something like American Sniper – it depicts a great deal of the fear and arbitrariness of war in its focus. However, it isn’t (nor is it trying to be) an out-and-out critique of the way wars are managed - however,there are great films that do succeed at depicting this. Vol 12, Issue 3
EQUITY UNCLE Dear Equity Uncle, I am a poor and lowly avocado buying member of the law school and therefore find myself unable to afford my textbooks...again. Surely there should be a moratorium on the number of editions one musty old law professor churns out? Sincerely brokea$$ Vol 12, Issue 3
CAMERON DOIG Here In the Level 3 Study Space In my solitary zone I hear someone whispering It’s not quiet Every “S” tickles my inner ear “Just go outside”, my soul begs But no Silence is for everyone Vol 12, Issue 3
NATHAN GRECH Late last month, the Victorian Premier accepted recommendations made by an independent investigation into proposed legislation legalising assisted dying. If passed, Victoria will be the first state to give severely medically unwell people a choice to determine when and how the end of their life plays out. The move is bold, but necessary, and supports the numerous claims we make as Australians about one social concept yet to be realised – progressive civil rights and pro-choice. Vol 12, Issue 3
ALICE KENNEDY Last year I was sitting in a lecture, having a chat during the break. “Did you know that Lecturer X interrupts female students more than male students?” My classmate had been keeping a tally for a number of weeks. At first I thought nothing of it. And then I started paying attention – not just in that subject, but all of them. I also started speaking to other students. It seemed that sometimes the interruptions made sense in context. More on that later. But often they did not. I asked myself: why was it necessary to interrupt female students who were clearly on the right track and on the way to the end of a sentence? Vol 12, Issue 2
LUKE THOMAS July used to be fun. Back home, July was summer vacation by the lake and long summer nights. Now, July in the Southern Hemisphere feels like February did in the North. Cold, wet, short days, long nights of wondering, ‘Am I always going to feel this way?’ At MLS, July has meant spending the winter comparing myself to others and coming up short—struggling to find the energy to sit through another lecture because I just can’t care. Vol 12, Issue 2
PAUL GODDARD Legal Drafting – A Necessary Skill for Lawyers, but Not for Law Students? We all know that there are 11 compulsory subjects we need to do known as the Priestley 11. These compulsory subjects are meant to establish the basic concepts that we need to know before we become trained to be lawyers. Yet there is something missing in this list of compulsory subjects: Legal Drafting. Right now it’s an elective in our JD program, but the competition to get into this subject is ridiculous to say the least. There are only 30 placements in the elective and there are approximately 300 of us who want to do it, perhaps more, but Melbourne Law School still does not increase the number of placements or classes. More importantly, they do not even make it a compulsory subject. There really needs to be a campaign by the LSS to make this a compulsory subject! Vol 12, Issue 2
JENNY AU I have been a western single player RPGs (role playing games) enthusiast since the first year of undergrad where they overtook books as my favourite way to procrastinate. So today I will attempt to quickly review one of my favourite games series, The Witcher . Note that playing the games reviewed below will waste your time, probably lower your grades, and may result in an addiction. Vol 12, Issue 2
SABA MOLLAIAN Hi, my name is Saba and I decided to lead an alcoholic-free life since I was 16 years old. Why, you wonder? Well, I’m glad you asked friend, because I was going to answer regardless. My journey began for religious reasons and eventually evolved into a personal reason not to consume it. However, having lived in the Global North for almost my entire life, alcohol has been something which I’ve lived side-by-side with. You name the occasion, get-togethers, parties, birthdays, etc., alcohol is most likely consumed by my peers. It has become a significant and inescapable presence in my life. |
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