J, a non-binary person, vividly remembers the day their Lit teacher said transgender people “are mentally ill”. “And if they identified as a cow, he wouldn’t moo, so why would he use their preferred pronouns?” they said. While this happened three years ago, J still feels as though they don’t fit in or belong to society. According to the national LGBTI Health alliance, 48.1 per cent of transgender and gender diverse people aged 14 to 25 have attempted suicide. “It makes me ve

While Sydney University students are on their way back to physical classrooms, those in Victoria are bunkered down for a long semester of home learning. With university studies being a critical time in many students’ lives, the adjustment of learning from home adds another level of stress to an already stressful time. Kayla Nichols, a full-time student at the University of Technology in Sydney, says it’s a relief to get back to uni. “There were a lot more distractions at ho

Budding actor Callum Rigg, a year 12 drama student, knows there is something special about being able to captivate an audience. Whether it’s singing, dancing, acting or all three, this is where Rigg feels most at home. “I love theatre, getting onstage and performing,” he says. However, under lockdown, Rigg must make his final curtain call early and do it via the internet. Practical subjects like drama have suffered most in the switch to online learning. “I’m a kinesthetic

“Trying to be productive and exercise has definitely been tricky. I miss the social interaction of team sports,” says Fiona Harris, one of millions of Melburnians stuck in lockdown. With exercise limited to one hour a day and group activities banned, team sports like netball and football, as well as outdoor exercise classes, are just a memory. And switching the couch for one hour of limited outdoor exercise can be harder than it seems. “It’s the same thing every day and th

As they saw the scale of the disaster the nation faced, Australia’s Sikh community committed to staying as long as they were needed. “We realised, we were not going home until this is over,” says Jaswinder Singh, acting secretary for Sikh Volunteers Australia. Then their task was feeding hundreds of people displaced by the bushfires that ravaged Australia’s east coast in summer, and the emergency services who were helping them. Many months later they’re still flat out, onl