Ngā kōrero a ngā tauira nō Craccum

2020 Craccum Highlights

Flick through this year’s Craccum editions and remind yourself of all the wonderful, weird, confronting and uplifiting events of 2020.

A selection of 2020 Craccum Magazine covers

Feature highlights

Self-actualisation or Guilt Realisation

By Patrick Macaskill-Webb

There are a lot of responses to the change of pace that our world is going through now. Some things hit us quickly, like fear, or the sudden relief that you can wallow (without guilt) at home. Hitting me now, however, is the longer-term challenge to stay motivated and passionate about my degree. All of these responses are valid, as any psychologist or good friend will tell you! Does every goal fulfil self-actualisation or have some become unhealthy habit rituals?

Fruit Picking

By Sherry Zhang

I moved out of home into a really cute flat in Sandringham at the start of this year. The windows don’t quite shut when it rains, there’s no insulation, and it’s very much a student flat. But I love it. I came home late from work on my second night here, and at 11:30 PM discovered a magical chai van. Chai Wala Bhai sits at the end of my street and Brother Chai always greets me with a smile. He is a staple in our community with his South Indian breakfast foods and late night tea hangouts around the van. The three cats who live down the road always greet me when I come home from uni. And our neighbour diagonally left always has the best music taste. It’s a doof of jazz and funk, intermingled with our native bird call in the bush separating us.

Vanquishing the Model Minority Myth

By Flora Xie

Identity is, for the most part, fluid. We construct who we are, and decide who we want to be. However, while it is often believed that we choose who we want to be, it is largely the society that we inhabit that shapes who we are. Identities are inherently based on outsider perceptions; people don’t exist inside of a vacuum. Moreover, identities can also be, and have historically been, highly politicised.

A Kōrero with Tuākana Arts

By Madeleine Crutchley

Madeleine Crutchley sits down with Mia-Mae Taitimu-Stevens, an administrator for Tuākana Arts, and Alofa So’olefai, a Tuākana tutor, to find out how they managed to navigate the long, challenging period of remote learning. They provide a recount of their experiences and struggles reaching out to teina during lockdown, explain the decision to push aspects of Tuākana onto social media and discuss the upcoming plans for Semester Two.