EDITORIAL | NOSTALGIA
Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Editor-in-Chief
We’re closing out the year on a note of reflection - 2024 has been in equal parts amazing and difficult for the majority of students at AUT and across the motu. A couple highlights include having classmates slowly admit to me they’ve never picked up a copy of Debate, community infighting as I promoted Salient’s Kororā for Bird Of The Year campaign (we lost) and came into campus to see that contributing photographer Max, their girlfriend, and their mates had plastered Tara Iti for BOTY posters across our stands (they also lost). It’s been a weird one.
That being said, we’re looking back on more than just 2024 in this issue. I’ve freed Caeden from the shackles of news and let them run wild reviewing old romantic comedies, contributor/musician HIRI compares nostalgic reminiscence on the Auckland music scene to their time in LA, and Stella has been looking through some old copies of Debate - or rather, Debait as it was called before the uni changed its name from AIT to AUT. We flipped through pages of horrific satire that seemingly only appealed to edgelords who thought oppression was funny. There was a fucking “White Issue” in 2007, and someone was doing a white supremacist satire where they defended the KKK. At least, we hope to dear god it was a satire.
As harrowing as it was to look back on, we figured we’d better acknowledge the ways the magazine has fucked up in the past. Of course, we haven’t published shit like this in years, but the name carries some weight and we hate that stuff like this was even written. There’s no way to reminisce without clearing out the spiders in our cupboard, I guess.
Even though I’ve introduced and haphazardly co-ordinated each issue, this magazine has obviously been the work of an entire community of editors, artists, writers, photographers, and designers. Thank you to Tashi, Thomas, Stella, and Caeden, our section editors who have provided writers with guidance, feedback, and workshopping for their mahi. Cam has done an incredible job keeping our social media looking fresh, and our graphic designer Gabbie has been the MVP of this magazine through a multitude of late nights and hot girl walks.
Thanks to the good people at AUTSA, especially my bosses Jesse and Jo-Hill for enduring my fuckups and giving me a job. Thanks to my former editors; Nam for bringing me into this magazine, and Sam for seeing me from feature writer to editor. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this magazine; Max, Evie, Nabeelah, Amani, Luke, Elle, C, Stu, Nathan, Paris, Dana, William, Hiri (especially) - these are just the people who have written three or more pieces for us! Thank you to everyone who has created art, written their truth, or done anything for this magazine. A particular thank you to you, dear reader. Ngā mihi nui - we’ll see you in 2025.
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