Contents The standard content of a final editorial is to slate all those Union hacks who have given you a hard time ail year and the standard opening paragraph is to say that it is the standard content of a final editorial to slate all the 3 THE POLITICS OF SUPER: Recently ACTU heir-apparent Union hacks that have given you a hard time all year and that you feel Simon Crean spoke of a national superannuation scheme at the there is no compulsion to deviate from that tradition. TJ Ryan Memorial Lecture and, a few days later, Joh rushed With that said, ! wijj deviate because, wJiilc I haven't exactly seen eye to eye w'lth legislation through making it illegal in Queenslartd. KEVIN all the exec members, they have done a reasonably competent job and I have more im­ VELLNAGEL is hopefully less confused than we are. portant topics to talk about than them. 4 THE 1984 STUDENT ELECTION AWARDS: Semper hacks Primarily I want to explain the style of editing we have followed and answer some HENZELL and DUNSTALL decided that the work done for the of the criticisms that have been leveled against us by the people who seem to think good of this Union by budding politicians hasn't been fully they know all about Semper. First and foremost is that if I were opposing someone for the position of Semper acknowledged, so here are our special awards. Editor who had brought out identical Sempers lo those Ihal Harry and 1 have this 5 NEW ERA FOR STUDENT POLITICS: Rather than just provide year, I would say that the standard could be vastly improved. This is due to two the results and the endless preferences, JOHN HENZELL gives misconceptions that most candidates have about Semper. First, most seem lo consider this very personal account of what went on behind the scenes. that Semper is exactly as I want it to be and that the various editorial balances are as I desire when what actually happens is that the balance is between what I actually want 6 BRISBANE BIKEWAYS INADEQUATE: The BGC builds a and the usual disasters that confront this office like articles that don't arrive, 3000 bikeway. SHANE ROWLAND reports, word assignments that are due at the same time as Semper and snap decisions that 7 EATING YOUR WAY THROUGH EXAMS: Dietician HOLLY need to be made at 4.0O a.m. There are a number of obvious improvements that still FRAIL finds the best ways to maximise your study ability heed to be made but I consider that 1 made almost as many as could be given the circum­ through food. stances. Second, other candidates' policies for Semper are usually those that, while they 9 THE DOUNREAY CONNECTION: The fascinating tour of the honestly believe they can achieve, are quite often unfeasible and don't allow for the World Bike Ride continues; part two of their report. style of Semper production with all the disasters mentioned above. They don't seem to 10 JOURNEY INTO THE SciFiCon ZONE: A subculture you may realise that what they say may not be possible. never have known existed is alive and well in Brisbane. JOHN Additionally, they invariably (as I admit I did) harbour strict journalistic ethics about how the paper should be run. When they get in, they implement these policies HENZELL reports on the sci-fi buffs. (of no plagiarism etc) and, when they discover that no one is reading Semper because it 11 MR SULU TREKS INTO BRISBANE: Stardate 30-10-84. The is so boring, they then discover that the bottom line to student journalism isn't ethics, twenty minute mission: to interview George Takai while jogging. it's whether or not anyone reads the paper. Armed with this healthy cynicism, they JOHN HENZELL wheezes. then finally struggle into the second semester before they are producing really com­ petent Sempers when they otherwise could have achieved that goal by the second or 14 SCHONELL'S SUCCESS STORY: Well whacko the chook! As third edition of first semester. reported by Tim Low. Part of these ethics which they continually complain to us about breaking is the 15 THE YEAR OF BIG BROTHER: An ex-Semper writer, current­ way we steal articles from other student newpapers. If the choice on New South Wales ly in Canberra, gives his views on what happens down there that news story is between stealing an excellent article from the UNSW paper or spending half of Semper's budget on STD calls to get a second rate article by a local writer, no one ever hears about. we'll choose the UNSW article every time. No matter how important an issue is, if 17 KEEPING AN EYE ON THE SPIES: Peace Researcher MARK no one reads about it because we used a second rate home-grown article, there is no D. HAYES responds to last issue's article on the Toowoomba point in printing it. communications base. Additionally, the articles that we don't use from Queensland Uni writers are usually god-awful whereas the articles we steal are the cream of Australian student journalism. 18 ADAMS' ANTIDOTE FOR TENNIS WHINGERS: Sydney's While many editors seem to suffer from this "journalism student syndrome" (as I've Channel 9 sports journalist PETER ADAMS offers Semper his provisionally called it until my PhD is completed) of ethics above readability, I think views on what should be done about the tennis spoilsports. we have made the correct decision in terms of students. Hopefully the Editors-elect will realise that they are writing for students at the University of Queensland and not ^19 DON McLEAN: Still going strong after so many years, Mr some journalistic "GOD". American Pie talks to OLIVIA STEWART about life, the uni­ Another complaint received was that I was biased towards Harry and Julie for verse etc. Semper. It wasn't so much that I supported them as I consider that Gavin Sawford as 20 THE CURE: In 1980 when I took my first and only sickle off editor will be detrimental to Semper. First because Gavin seems to follow a reactive work on the same night the Cure was playing, my boss accused pohcy for Semper rather than aii improving one. That is, he considers that since the me of reporting in sick only so I could go to their concert. None balance of this year's Semper has been towards Ballymore style trcndyism, next year there will be no trendy articles, no skiing articles and nothing even remotely connected of this has anything to do with KIM HAMILTON'S interview. with the Ballymore crowd. 21 HUNTERS & COLLECTORS: What makes them tick? BREN­ This has always seemed completely ridiculous to me because it is the obvious role DAN LONG (brother of Karen) finds out. of Semper to be representative of the students who fund and read it, and a significant 22 Semper's weak attempt at a literary section, which would have proportion of the people who read it do go skiing, do dress in "trendy" clothing and been longer except Harry said we would not publish a short do go to Ballymore.,To ignore that proportion is even worse than the imbalance that story by Tony Kynaston, we might have had this year. The goat should be improvement rather than reaction. Further, some of the distinctions he makes are cleariy hypocritical. His argument 24 THE YEAR THAT WAS: Winners and Losers: Inveterate losers for why he hates the Ballymore trendies is that they are just following an arbitrarily HENZELL and DUNSTALL report on what happened this year. set pattern of dress and actions (La Coste and Ballymore) to achieve an image. Yet 26 TRAVEL SECTION: KIERAN RIDGE in Rome, LOIS PORTO B Gavin dresses as a Mod, a group which follows a different but just as arbitrary pattern of dress and actions (in this case three button suits and first edition "Who" records) to in Guatemala, TIM LOW all over Australia, JULIE WHITE achieve an image. The only difference between the two seems to be that Gavin looks getting over jetlag, FROSTY THE SNOWMAN in the northern down on the trendies while he is actually following a similar method of image copying. hemisphere, and a couple of bonus travel-book reviews. Additional complaints, as ever, come about Semper triviality. Part of our attempt 35 REVIEWS: to make Semper as readable as possible is to tailor the content to suit the way students BOOKS: UQ Press reprints, one on the Freedom of Information are feeling. Thus, at the start of semester when commitments are low and academic Bill, and the longest book review ever written for Semper to work is largely forgotten, we offer content that includes more serious articles and analy­ match the longest book ever written for Semper - Norman sis and as the semester goes on we reduce the rate of challenging articles (with varia­ tions according to emerging issues) and increase the trivial and fun parts of Semper to Mailer's 'Ancient Evenings'. 'the point where the pre-Swat Vac Semper is just downright silly, because we feel MOVIES: Buckaroo Banzai, reviewed by Jesus Marrow; Broad­ that at that time the long hours of study make people want to read Semper for relaxa­ way Danny Rose, reviewed by John Henzell; Purple Rain, review­ tion rather than information on analytical articles. Certainly some Serious Young ed by the Atomic Energy Commission; and A Sunday in the Students will complain about the triviality but I like to think that it maximises the Country, reviewed by old red-eyes, Mr Henzell (himself).