When you’ve been in Hamilton long enough you realise this place kinda sucks, we don’t have aesthetic historical buildings and multiple libraries like dunedin, we don’t have a supermodern student bar and restaurant like Christchurch, we don’t have a rooftop soccer pitch and multiple dinner spots on campus like auckland, I dont know what those country Bumpkins do at massey and lincoln but we’re
SUNDAY Scalding at the bottom of the kettle, a bloom I decide it’s nothing but like the sting and the red after this weekend getaway of sexing, fucking the beachside’s famous vanishing act Piss it drunk down the motel sink SATURDAY On Saturday morning they confirmed the worst news I watched the caterpillars gather, beneath
If you pay attention to what goes on in New Zealand politics at all, you’d know the Beehive contains more drama than a high school theatre kid friend group. The politicians that we trust with our country with are… volatile, to say the least. What’s ever-so-slightly concerning is how high-school-style drama has recently encapsulated New
Byrne Power says, quoting Tomáš Procházka; “It’s nice to say it. Because then we can say we do Punk. We do Punk Puppetry.” With DIY elements and a fundamental concept of alienation to the standard creativity leech that is capitalist powers, the puppet is punk, in and of itself. Through parody and
In November of 2025, Minister for Resource Management Act Reform Chris Bishop and Minister for Local Government Simon Watts announced reforms to local government. On Tuesday the 5th of May, they gave councils three months to figure out how they would do it before the New Zealand Government steps in. According to
If you are familiar with the world of perfume and fragrance, you have probably come across the word “oud” at some point. A staple on the shelves of fragrance bros around the world, oud is a scent that is widely known but scarcely understood. In fact, oud is the Arabic name for Agarwood, a
What year is it? Because I thought it was 2026, three years after New Zealand’s last election, making it an election year. The behaviour of our political leaders does not seem to line up with this. There’s no denying that as idyllic as the world would be if we all made educated votes
Hitler flunked out of art school and then threw one of the deadliest bitch-fits in history. Though the degree of correlation between the two events is questionable, that’s just a fact. Not necessarily a fun one but anyone who knows anything about Adolf (the capital A is for Asshole) knows that he wanted to
This educational game is excellent for teaching children about the economic state of the world right now and the oppressive system of capitalism. It starts off with an excellent metaphor in which you arrive on an island, expecting to start a new life, but the island is deserted. This is a specific
My sister has brought home another date. This one seems fine, but after Evan the fascist—anyone would seem fine. I look him up and down, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Mum and Dad giving him the same scanning stare. Daniel had arrived exactly on time. He wore
I’m in Raglan now instead of the same couple suburbs of Hamilton and the street I live on in Cambridge which have been my only routine sights out of a sense of complacency for the past whatever. Alsatia splashes water over herself on the front porch of her cousin’s bach and I’m leaning against the yay-high chainlink fence strangling
I’ve spent the last 10 years of my life waking up to the dreaded sound of Apple’s radar alarm sound. Dididi-dididi- dididi-dididi DIDIDI-DIDIDI. And I never stopped to think about why. Why was I torturing myself this way every morning, letting this sonic harassment continue. I decided enough was enough. I’d had it. After literally 2 minutes on Facebook
ACT’s newest policy is giving students false hope for cheaper study costs. Under its proposed tertiary policy, students would be able to opt out of paying Student Services Fees, which currently help everything from our health services to UniRec to this very magazine. ACT argues this would give students more
Over the past decade trust in the media has declined. I think this has moved beyond postmodern scepticism, so I’ve written a bit about how technology influences culture and reminded you all that we’re getting fucked by AI. I believe the gap between media’s representation of truth and reality itself
For issue 12 I wrote an editorial telling you to use academic jargon and the language of your field of study in your assignments. Here’s more unsolicited advice for writing assignments. There’s something I’ve noticed to be constant across my assignments, papers, and the fields I’ve studied. Virtually every assignment wants you to apply a framework to
The best decision I ever made as someone in their early (to mid) twenties was to stop caring what other people think. And that’s not to say I’m perfect at it but I try to focus on me and only me. I don’t care if my outfits fit the trends; here at Nexus, I write what I want to write. I take uni papers that
University students have become experts at being busy. We juggle lectures, assignments, jobs, internships, clubs, relationships, side hustles, and somehow try to maintain a social life in between. If you’re not exhausted, it almost feels like you’re doing something wrong. Somewhere along the way, we’ve started wearing stress like a badge of honour. The advice we’re usually given falls into two
The following is based on anonymous reports from teaching staff and students, my personal opinion, and a healthy helping of speculation. We cannot find any evidence this is certainly happening; there is no uni statement or policy I could find from a google search. However, if the university is mandating that teaching staff include AI in their
Citing McGall’s recent work – seminal in the intersection of nexus thought and academic meta discourse – this paper outlines strategy for furthering one’s linguistic execution in the context of undergraduate scholarship. Positing a reductive angle, sharpened by a pragmatic approach, this article cuts through the academic noise and offers advice both
The proposed Definitions of Woman and Man bill seeks to define a woman as “an adult human biological female” and a man as “an adult human biological male” in the Legislation Act (2019). Its explanatory note claims the purpose is to “protect the integrity of sex-based rights” and ensure language reflects “biological reality.”
On Friday the 8th of May New Zealand’s beacon of austerity, Nicola Willis, confirmed what NZ First gerontocrat Winston Peters had leaked on Newstalk ZB, that fees free will be scrapped in the upcoming budget. Our very own iron lady shared that “We will have more to say about this in
So far this year, international affairs has been consumed by the USA and Isreal targeting Iran, however, the genocide on Palestine hasn’t ended just because Isreal is occupied elsewhere. The scale of suffering in Gaza Strip right now demands attention to what daily life has become for Palestinians still living through the
Japan is turning footsteps into energy… jk. But that’s an example of one of the many ways AI is enclosing the internet. We, as young people, have seen its slow creep into our lives, from uncanny AI generated images to Russian bots celebrating Putin’s gains in the Donbas. But old people haven’t. They haven’t grown up
Toby gave me 48 hour notice to write this editorial because he didn’t want to do it so now I’m going to convince you to study humanities: When choosing a degree pathway, one question remains: Is the humanities dying? The rise of STEM fields being framed as practical, employable subjects intensify this narrative. Yet, beneath this rhetoric lies
Aries: please break up with your shitty boyfriend, he’s ruining your life dude. Taurus: if you need life advice, refer to the lorde x jack antonoff lore slideshow. it knows all. Leo: it’s time to confess your sins on a piece of paper in a park, and then smoke three
Now, I will admit that even though a random audit is supposed to be going into a class you have ZERO business being in, I kind of do have a slight amount of business here. Sue me, you’re going to hear about an english paper from an english and writing
Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas holds a special place in my heart. When I was highkey fat and horrifically depressed in highschool, I mean like completely miserable – I had a nose pimple and my crush called me Rudolph – sitting in the library and letting my Spotify shuffle through Room
Your horoscope your pop culture moment Aries: ‘beefin’ wit my chick while I’m in jail’ Cancer: The time Charli D’amelio thought the #HereForCharli movement was about her Aquarius: ‘she’s got… PTSD, or, whatever. Post traumatic… Downs Syndrome’ Sagitarius: ‘ninnies on the glass, ninnies on the glass’ Gemini: ‘Stop sign?? What
Ingredients: Method:
It’s important to note that ‘girl dinner’ is extremely subjective. It is different for everyone, and varies on your levels of energy, motivation, finances, and total personal value (amongst others). That being said, let’s get into my personal dinner. Playlist: Do not listen to any music, just open Spotify and
When we were friends is The Backseat Lovers’ 2019 debut album, an indie, slightly pop-rocky-y lyrical exploration of being 18-20, learning about people and the world, and having wonderful experiences whilst being not too sure on what to think of them. The album opens with ‘Watch Your Mouth’, a song about wanting to help someone you love get through something, before
It is the first week back at uni (yay) and I had nothing better to do. Actually that is a lie, I was assigned three practicals on my first day back that I had to complete by the end of the week but instead of doing that, I decided to attend a random lecture. You’re welcome.
Aries: Have you thought about cancelling that gym membership? When was the last time you actually went? Cancer: Do not go anywhere near the library stairs this week. You will be cursed to fall down them. Aquarius: Consider the fact that doing the readings for class might actually help you pass whatever you’re
Best songs with colours in the title Back to Black: Amy Winehouse Black Hole Sun: Soundgarden Brown Sugar: The Rolling Stones Red Moon: Big Thief Orange Show Speedway: Lizzy McAlpine Big Yellow Taxi: Joni Mitchell Yellow ledbetter: Pearl Jam Green Light: Lorde Blue Monday: New Order Purple Rain: Prince Pink + White: Frank Ocean
In today’s day and age, when you step out into the public world, you’re very likely to see an array of people clutching an array of drinks that all have one thing in common: caffeine. You’re probably holding one yourself, whether it’s a hot coffee spewing steam, a cold coffee
In the hours following the attack at Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Pride celebrations, the focus of public conversation shifted with remarkable speed. Before many people knew the names of those injured or understood the impact on Berlin’s LGBTIQ+ community, headlines were already highlighting one particular detail: the alleged attacker’s links
Since pride month has finally ended, it’s appropriate to talk about what’s happening to bisexual women in queer internet spaces at the moment. Since the 1980s, there has been an observable rift between bisexual women that date men and lesbians, which has been recently revived on social media. I sat down with Sonja Ellis, a professor
A New Plymouth primary school has phased out the use of iPads for students in years one to four. Omata School was one of the first in the country to adopt the use of devices in the classroom, but Principal Karen Brisco is now not so convinced that they are
Scroll through social media for five minutes and you’ll find a new body to aspire to. One creator swears by becoming a “muscle mommy,” another insists Pilates is the secret to a lean physique, while someone else claims marathon training transformed their body and life. Alongside these fitness trends come equally viral
Sup Matt! Tell us a bit about yourself and your time at Nexus? I used to write a column called ‘Making living cheaper with Honest Matt’. It was dodgy (borderline criminal) financial advice for poor students. I won columnist of the year for 2012 and got really drunk at House. Also, that
Maiki Sherman has resigned from her role as political editor for 1News at TVNZ. That’s the headline, but it’s not the full picture. The circumstances surrounding her resignation have been only one part of an ecosystem of muddied waters that now make up the relationship between Parliament, the media, and the New Zealand
There is no hiding the association university has with stress; deadlines, class, and the pending doom of an uncertain future have always been part of student life. But for many students in Aotearoa, that experience is increasingly being replaced by exhaustion. Between rising rents, grocery prices, transport costs, and tuition
The tumultuous history of deciding who pays for university The University of Waikato opened in1964, and its students back then had a much different experience financing university than we do today. From 1962 until 1989, the government paid for tertiary tuition fees in full with the state bursary. As the story often goes, all good things
It’s not much of a secret that online gambling has seen a rise in popularity in the last few years, especially with the younger generation. The technology being offered today means you can gamble from anywhere you can find a connection, anytime you want, on whatever device you’re using. It’s convenient, accessible, and marketed as entertainment suited
Content warning: mentions of sexual violence, drug use and suicide The popularisation of looksmaxxing has opened a gaping glory hole in the manosphere – ironically by some of the most homophobic people on the internet. Looksmaxxing, a portmanteau of ‘looks’ and ‘maximising’, is the idea and practice of improving one’s physical appearance through a variety of
At some point in the early 21st century, it became clear that the cultural mood had shifted. The ironic detachment that defined late 20th-century art and thought – so central to postmodernism – no longer felt sufficient in a world shaped by climate anxiety, digital hyperconnectivity, and renewed political urgency. Yet a return to
The South Island finally gets shitty weather: Thank God it’s passed us and gone down there. We did not need more rain this year, but the flooding looks horrific. Sorry for laughing at you, Otago. China warns New Zealand about upcoming missile tests in the Pacific: Of course our Prime Minister was chill with this. Put your mouth where
The Audit Office has responded to an Official Information Act request regarding the changes to the Healthy School Lunches programme. The changes were proposed in 2024 by Associate Minister for Education David Seymour, and rolled out over 2025. The original Healthy School Lunches programme was expected to cost between $5.78 and $8.62 a lunch
As students continue to navigate rising living costs, growing student debt and the government’s decision to end the first-year Fees Free scheme, tertiary education has become a major election issue. To discuss what these changes mean for students and why young people should pay attention this election, Aoife sat down
I naïvely had hoped anti-immigration rhetoric wouldn’t reach Aotearoa as it has in other countries. Over the past year I have been proven wrong. It’s hard to see hate winning over a country I once had so much pride in, at least a very vocal demographic make it seem that way. I was born
On the 20th of May, ACT member of parliament David Seymour announced on his Facebook account that ACT would be directly supporting the movement of the controversial ‘Man and Woman’ bill through parliament. Promoted as a feminist movement, the bill seeks to define transgender people under their biological sex in
Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered Budget 2026without any election-year giveaways. The Government has spent months preparing New Zealanders for what is one of the tightest budgets in years. Rather than major new spending programmes, the focus was on controlling government debt, returning the books to surplus, and funding a small number of priority areas. For students, that may
Max Verstappen takes a podium in Montreal: No one understands how much this means to me. The battle between him and Hamilton was class, and we got a podium out of it too. The Red Bull comeback might be coming sooner than we thought. Crusaders horse spooks at home game: Look,
Four people who’ve never voted or voted but didn’t care sit in a room and learn about politics, so you don’t have to. This week: Housing and Rentals. Labour ACT National Greens NZ First Te Pāti Māori Opportunity Party Responses: Lauren: Filly: Due to my current situation, what Labour is proposing sounds really good to me, one of my end goals has always been buying a house for my fam, so any support to help me
Thousands of public servants to lose their jobs, saving the government billions. Good to see that the government’s solution to being in crippling debt is to fire the people that literally operate the country. Another great example of why they are a one term government. Couple Devastated after uninsured pirate ship catches on fire and sinks
By Nexus Magazine – additional reporting done by Nexus Interns Tomas Richly and Hailey Reece Mid-Trimester restructures at the Waikato School of Design have led to tears, panic and at least ten students scrambling to find 100-hour internships in the last three weeks of the Trimester. According to a University spokesperson the
Missing Hotel Guest found inside huge crocodile airlifted from river Oh so this is a real thing that happens? You can actually get swallowed whole by a creature? Thank god we don’t have crocodiles here, because if we did I’d never touch a body of water again in my life. Pierre Gasly dramatically flips after a crash with Liam Lawson I’m not religious, but thank
We sent Dylan to talk to Campus Chaplin and genuinely good human Brother Andew. Or at least we planned to. We were curious as to ‘Brother A’s response to Trump reposting AI generated images and Pete Hegseth quoting fake scripture from Tarantino. Dylan wisely opted out of entering a house or worship in fear of
Rating: 2/5 Do you want a story with too many characters and not enough mystery? Then A Man You Can Bank On is the book for you! Set in a small town in the Australian outback, this novel follows a cast of criminals, townspeople and police as they all try
Rating: 5/5 Attack on Titan is an anime that starts off deceptively simple but becomes a true thriller the further you get into it. The story starts off as a story about humanity desperately trying to survive against man-eating Titans. But as the series progresses, it develops into a much
Rating: 3/5 Season of Fear by Emily Cooper is a feminist fantasy-horror novel inspired by Bavarian folklore of Germany, and a loose adaptation of The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was by the Brothers Grimm. The story centers around Isle Odenwald, a teen girl
Rating: 5/5 If you’re like me and are a fan of stand-up comedy or have watched Taskmaster New Zealand a few too many times, you may have heard of comedian Jack Ansett. On the 24th of July my boyfriend and I went to watch the only Hamilton stop on his
Rating: 1/5 Now, I have to admit I’m only halfway through this season, so I can’t provide a full and inclusive review, but I think with Taskmaster, that doesn’t matter so much. Australians will do Australian things, and Big Tom will make fun of Lesser Tom for simply existing. This
Rating: 4/5 Get your ass to the cinemas, Spider-man: Brand New Day is officially out. It’s a strange film to review because it assumes a history that feels just out of reach. Everyone in New York reacts to Spider-Man like he’s always been there, yet the man beneath the mask
Rating: -1/5 After a six volume graphic novel series, one novella, and three series of a Netflix show, Heartstopper came to a close with a feature length film Heartstopper Forever. These loved characters ended their highschool chapters, and it was clear the actors were dying to do so. The actors have been linked to said teen drama
Rating: -3/5 It never ceases to amaze me how this travesty of Donna Tart’s The Secret History ever managed to become so popular. If We Were Villains tells the story of a group of Shakespearean drama students as they try to cover up the death of friend. However, the fact that the students study
Rating: 3/5 My favourite nepo-baby is back with a new album, titled Daughter from Hell. This time, she and Aaron Dessner, Gracie’s longtime producer, are picking up the piano a lot more, rather than her trademark plucky fingerstyle acoustic, popular on her album The Secret of Us. This album, though still filled lyrically with her personal
Rating: 3/5 This movie had never been anywhere close to being on my radar, but I’ve got some theatre-kid friends, so I ended up falling in love with a hundred and twenty minutes of Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams singing very badly. Well, Will sang badly. Rachel’s character was actually incredible, and he
Rating: 1/5 I went into this movie thinking they’d seriously fuck up the series, since let’s be real, how many movies can you make before it starts to go downhill? Apparently, five isn’t too many. I left the theatre with two of my best friends, all of us pretending like we hadn’t just bawled our eyes out at an
Rating: 4/5 First day back in Semester B, and there’s something new in the library! It looks so cozy and inviting, and kind of reminds me of a fishbowl. Cute! I forget everything every three seconds, and I’m insanely sensitive to changes in my environment, so I think I‘ll belong there. That’s right folks, I’m talking about the glass study boxes that
I’ll just come right out and say it. If there were no extra financial support for education, I would not be attending university right now. Many tauira don’t have the luxury of a safety net or financial stability. Many come from homes that don’t have an extra $20 to spare. Back in the dark ages, in
Tauira Māori on campus Māne (Monday) Tūrei (Tuesday) Wenerei (Wednesday) Hoki atu ki tō kāinga – Just go home Nā Elyse Rahiri Only a quarter of the way through the year and already most of us are feeling a bit pau te hau. Getting back into the swing of study can be overwhelming and even worse if you have people pleasing tendencies, don’t say
Tauira Māori on campus Tūrei (Tuesday) Wenerei (Wednesday) Taite (Thursday) Te Waiora – Rā Hākinakina | Gate 2b – 4:30 pm Reo Māori Phrases of the Week Kia ora koutou! Here are some useful everyday Reo Māori phrases to help you talk about holidays, whānau, and what you’ve been up to. COLUMN I tōku whānau tokorua ōku kuia, noho tahi ai. Arā, ko tōku kuia a toto nei, me te kuia o tōku ngākau. Ko te rongo o te aroha, kāore i rerekē. He tirohanga Māori tēnei. Ahakoa te momo aroha,
By now you’ve probably heard we’ve got a new name. We’re still WSU, but now we also carry our ingoa Māori, Te Awa Kōtui. This didn’t happen overnight. WSU has been working towards an ingoa Māori that truly reflects us and our tauira for a long time, across multiple boards. I also want to acknowledge the presidents, vice presidents, VP Māori, and life members who contributed
Kia ora, my name is Anaia Rua, and I am from Ngāi Tūhoe & Ngāti Awa. In the following piece, I reflect on the profound connection shared between Aotearoa and our relatives from Hawai’i during the “He Kura Tūroa” wānanga. He Kura Tūroa: Relatives Across the Pacific He ahurea te taiao, he taiao te ahurea. The environment is the culture, the culture is the
A question I heard recently has been sitting with me: can tikanga evolve in a modern world? It came up during a kōrero between a group of tauira, and it sparked a lot of reflection for me about what I’ve been taught and how I understand tikanga today. For many people, tikanga is
There’s a strong Māori presence on campus and plenty happening this week, from Cultural Hour to weekly wānanga and study spaces. If you want to meet other tauira, build your reo, or spend time in a Māori space between classes, there are kaupapa running across campus. Keep an eye on… Te whakahiapo – Maori law students association – @te_whakahiapo
