After two years of remote learning, Swinburne students are finding aspects of the return to campus a struggle. Although the return to face-to-face learning is a welcome change, adjusting to life back on campus has presented a range of challenges. Mental health and anxiety One of the most prominent issues is the impact on mental health. Design and media and communications student Steph Henderson said being back on campus took some getting used to. “There’s the social anxiety

“It still just blows my mind every day that people are so invested in this. I just hope they’ll continue to be, as it keeps unravelling.” When Iris Rogers, 28, returned home to her family’s farm in New York state to start her own business, she became caught up with the hunt for the original deed to the 235-year-old property. Her unfolding story uncovered secret written notes, a message in a bottle, mediums, a bible under a staircase, old poems, mysterious postcards, gold ring

What do the biggest sports in the world have in common? Stadiums filled with cheering fans, millions of viewers around the world, and billion-dollar industries. While this might make you think of soccer, cricket or rugby, there is an emerging contender in the world of sports that might not be on everyone’s minds just yet, but it should be. Esports as a competitive sport In esports, professional gamers compete against each other in organised tournaments. Team size depends on

Most people remember the anti-smoking ads on television in the early 2010s. The bubble-wrap lungs being burnt and melted by a cigarette and Terrie H with her barely there voice as a result of her smoking.  Caleb Spackman, 19 from Melbourne, said he understands why so many of today’s young people have been turned off smoking and have instead taken up vaping. “I used to hate smoking because of those ads,” he says. He admits he smoked socially for a bit because it “tends to br

“There are lots of moral panics around the innocence of children,” says Dr Joanna McIntyre, a lecturer in media studies at Swinburne University. McIntyre is part of the Swinburne research team working with the Australian Children’s Television Foundation on a four-year research project into Australian children’s television. “In Western culture, children are understood to be asexual and must be kept away from certain things – the framing of childhood is seen as a time of inno

Melbourne International Games Week wrapped up last month, having provided a distinctly Australian celebration of the evolution of a growing local video game industry. Curated by Creative Victoria, Melbourne International Games Week (MIGW or “Migwa” as it is affectionately known) is held every year to commemorate the local industry and act as a touchstone for both casual fans and industry workers alike. Michelle Shepherd, a senior project officer with Creative Victoria, says i

While Australia’s live music industry continues to struggle, musicians turning to the local games industry for composing jobs are striking gold. Music in video games has evolved quickly through technical and creative innovations, leaving behind that synthesised, 8-bit or “chiptune” music sound popular in early arcade and console games. Game soundtracks are an integral part of the overall tone and experience of players, with some composers’ work attracting attention outside o

A car passed, the driver’s window rolled down and the man spat two crude words at the young mother standing with her baby on the path. It was 2001, only a few months after the twin towers at the World Trade Center fell on the other side of the world, and 20-year-old Ayesha was walking her son to the nearby shopping centre from their Maribyrnong home. Unsure and afraid, Ayesha could only freeze. It has been more than 20 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the U

“The thing that needs to be realised is that every level crossing is different,” Parkdale father Dave Harrison says. “Parkdale is one of the last true villages left in the state, that in itself needs to be recognised.” The proposed removal of the Parkers Rd level crossing in the seaside village of Parkdale has embroiled the township in a major struggle. The Andrews Government has committed to removing 85 dangerous level crossings around the state by 2025, with Parkdale set t

“I wish when I was growing up, I had some character that was openly bisexual. I would’ve been like ‘that’s what I am’, but I didn’t have that at all.” Melbourne Uni culture studies senior lecturer Dr Hannah McCann says getting some representation for bisexuality has been a long time coming. “So having any character, let alone a huge mainstream comic character identify as bisexual is really significant for challenging the stigma around the identity,” she says. DC Comics has a

A petition with almost 150,000 signatures asking for gender-affirming surgery to be covered by Medicare was posted to the Government’s website last week. The petition organiser said gender-affirming surgery – to allow someone to “have their outward appearance match how they truly feel on the inside” – could cost up to $30,000. “I know of someone personally who is struggling to bring together the money to get this surgery as it is not covered by Medicare, even though this spe

It is September 27, 2021, and the country is shut down by the All-India farmers’ strike.  At the Amritsar toll plaza, the women farmers are cooking food for more than 200 protesters. “They serve everyone but hardly eat anything themselves,” Manbir Sandhu, a social activist, says. Amrinder Kaur asks a young girl serving food to give her just a quarter of a serving. “I can’t eat much. One sip of water per hour is sufficient. I’ll have to use the toilet otherwise. It’s better t