THE FINNISH LINE: About Food / Ruoasta

The Finnish line is a column series by Martta Tikka, an exchange student from Finland. In this column series, they talk about their experiences about Aotearoa, its people and events. After a careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that Finnish people don’t feed each other nearly as often

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Notesapp – three 

I fell in love with the moon the darkness swallowed a pale silver glow on pink blush cheeks  lay awake   with the stars   where in the week-long nights  there was company  I fell in love with the sun shining on ocean waves with my feet in the shallows  sinking into the sand  golden

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The Notesapp

I Miss You  You were waiting for me,  The sun met your skin,  Absorbing rays like they were yours to take.  I almost skimmed past,  But you caught my attention,  The right moment – our moment.  Golden locks settled inside you.  There was something clean about you,   with the smell

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The Hindi–Urdu Controversy 

Many people think of Hindi and Urdu as two distinct languages. Others believe the exact opposite. In my experience, few debates get as heated as those concerning the relationship of Hindi and Urdu. Open the comment section of any video discussing this question, and you will find Hindi and Urdu

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$50 Date 

Welcome back to the $50 Date, the column where a broke Uni student tries to have fun somewhere near to Hamilton without breaking the bank. The rules of the activity haven’t changed; We get $50 (Each or total, it’s not specified), we find something to do fairly close to Hamilton,

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Long History Of Creativity: AI’s Problem With Human Hands.

It’s almost pyrrhic that Artificial Intelligence struggles to replicate the way hands look, when some of the first pieces of evidence regarding human creativity are handprints branded on the walls of caves. Located in Indonesia are what is believed to be the oldest known handprint stencils, dated around 67,800 years

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What’s the Buzz: Luxon needs to Beehive himself

I think we bullied Christopher Luxon a bit too hard.  I never thought I’d say that, but after all the jokes about him avoiding questions, he’s really started to speak his mind. If you think that’s a good thing, then what I’d say to you is that what’s going on

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The Problem of Pests, Taken Seriously

By Timothy Townshend.This first paragraph is largely introducing the lineage that Brushtail Possums inhabit, if that does not interest you skip it. Brushtail Possums are a member of the the clade Diprotodontia, a ~25 Million Year old group ranging in diversity from the extinct Hippo-sized Diprotodont to the Tasmanian pygmy

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The Finnish Line

About Understanding / Ymmärryksestä I’ve been training how to speak English for over a decade now. In Finland, most people have learnt English since elementary school as a mandatory part of the curriculum. We learnt proper UK pronunciation, we watched The Simpsons, we did everything in school and outside of

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Auckland’s Aotea Square, Skateboarders, & A.I.

To skateboarders, where we skate matters. AI will harm our connection to the places we skate. This may seem like a small concern in the scheme of things, but that might be the point. Maybe you don’t care about skateboarders, but something as specific as this shows us just how all-consuming AI’s effects

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Revealing Reviews

Content warning: this review discusses themes of graphic violence and feet   This informative film acts as a metaphor for the exploration of one man and his weird obsession with women’s feet. While this review is non-kink shaming, it will explore how the director’s action film is an intertextual expression across

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The Notesapp – Depression in the garden

The sun casts down onto the water that decorates the grass beneath me, a million tiny prisms littering the strands that intertwine like lovers. My feet are white, bleached by the winter of shoes and the endless torrent of rain. Gross. The bottoms of my jeans and the shoulders of my shirt are

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Opt-Out of Voting ACT 

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

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Post-irony, AI, and Trust in the Media

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

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Toby’s Tips 

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

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“I Gotta Put Me First”

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

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The Difference Between Giving Up and Taking a Break 

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

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The Imposition of AI here at UoW 

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

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Editorial – Issue 12 2026

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

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The Politics of Exclusion 

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.”

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Fees Free Scrapped

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

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Gaza and the Ongoing Reality of Survival

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

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An Open Letter to Old People: Gen Z Don’t Like AI 

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

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A Rant About Humanities

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

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Greyhound Ban 

The government has turned into a stay-at-home boy mum Facebook group who have nothing better to do than complain about things that don’t really involve them. Every time I open my phone I get blasted with articles about shit our government is fucking with now instead of the things we actually asked for. Although I am

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Horoscopes – Issue 12 2026

Aries- We all know you’re procrastinating on that assignment, stop putting it off and you’ll feel better.  Taurus- It’s ok to ask people for help, you’re not inconveniencing people, I promise.  Gemini- Try that new hobby you’ve always wanted to, it’s not about being good it’s about enjoying it.  Cancer- Stop wasting time on your friend that’s always stirring up drama, they’re not worth your time.  Leo- Sometimes it’s ok to beat a

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Really, REALLY good creamy tomato pasta. 

Studylink just hit? This is the meal for you. Delicious, super easy, and not overly expensive.  Playlist: Anything you want really. I’d start with 4EVER by clairo, She’s my Collar by Gorillaz and Kali Uchis, and Redbone by Childish Gambino.  You will need:  Method: 

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What it takes to be a Genre: Desert Blues.  

Guitar driven, rolling beats. Quick looping drums, and jazz-like solos. Lyrics that float through your ears and reverberate in your brain. Northan and West Africa. Indigo blue tagelmust. Desert Blues music is mostly in their native language of Tamasheq, but understanding it is not so important as feeling it.   My first exposure

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The Staircase To Stardom Tour 

Audrey Hobert, night one of two shows at Auckland’s Powerstation, and the excitement raging through the air was intoxicating. The mezzanine upstairs was the all ages access, which, if you got there as soon as the doors opened and snagged a spot right at the barricade, was arguably a better view than being down on

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Horoscopes – Issue 11 2026

Aries – Someone’s doing rituals to get your attention late at night in their bedroom, so maybe figure out who it is in case they make a voodoo doll and you find yourself having sharp pains in your chest at random times throughout the day.  Taurus – You don’t have to save all of your stickers for a

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Making food with no money – Casserole

This is a very cheap and easy meal that is great for the winter months and is bound to accelerate the seasonal depression. This meal isn’t that tasty, looks pretty shit but can be cooked while you’re not at home and costs fuck all.  Ingredients   Method   Go to the supermarket and get one of those brown paper bags.

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Horoscopes – Issue 10 2026

Aries: The LGBTQ dating pool might be almost completely dead, but don’t give into becoming straight just because it’s easier, being queer is way cooler.   Taurus: I would like to lie to you, but unfortunately everyone can tell you were homeschooled. I’m sorry. It never wears off.   Gemini: Being a photographer is not a feasible career. You knew this when you took art in

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Dancing On The Wall: A Review 

Alternative pop trio, Muna, has made a comeback after 4 years off with their fourth studio album release Dancing On The Wall. After success with their self-titled album, Muna has redefined their sound with an alternative dance pop, 13 track record. Produced entirely by band member Naomi McPherson – this album encompasses crying in the

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Recipe: The Hangxiety Cure, aka. gruel 

Playlist:  Whatever depresses you extensively. I like Strangers by Ethel Cain, Motion Picture Soundtrack by Radiohead, and D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L by Panchiko, but anything goes.   You will need:   Instructions: 

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The Right Move

Dance can be many different things: exercise, fun, enjoyment, a form of expression and so on. It can also mean many different things to people, and as dance is such a universal art form everyone has varied experiences, ideas, and motivations. I chatted to three dancers to learn what dance

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Head? Is it tapu?

Part 1: Ripeka Paapu The notion that receiving or giving oral sex while wearing moko kanohi is tapu reflects a modern discomfort, not the lived realities of our tipuna. To understand moko is to understand that it has always been part of the totality of our humanity, not a restriction

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Reindigenising & Decolonising

Written By Manasseh Cowley We had just finished presenting at one of Bogotá’s most prestigious universities and it was now time for whakawhanaungatanga and kai. Seated to my left was a professor of law. Although not Indigenous herself, she shared her hopes for a future that saw the integration of

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Te Tiriti For Dummies (ew david)

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is not some ancient, dusty relic. Hell, it’s barely 185 years old – younger than the first working camera! It is the foundation document of Niu Tīreni, intended to set up a relationship between Māori and the Crown built on the three P’s: partnership, participation, and

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When Uni RegulationsClash With Tikanga,Who Wins?

Written By Naianga Tapiata If you’ve ever been to any uni, you’ll know the vibe, there’s ALWAYS a policy for everything. Missed an exam? There’s a form. Late assignment, that’ll be 10% off. Now imagine that you are a Māori student and your world doesn’t just run on timetables and

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“Feeling The Skateboard” Uganda Skate Society

by Toby Brockelbank & Patrick Kigongo Nexus are stoked to have the chance to interview Uganda Skate Society. Absolute shredders with one of the gnarliest parks we’ve ever seen. Massive shoutout to Gose Gerald for his kindness and being so keen to work with us. Nexus also thank Patrick Kigongo

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Something Solid to Stand On:Ukraine’s Raw Skate Scene

by Toby Brockelbank and Mykhaylo Tevkun Who are you and what’s your favourite skate trick?My name is Mykhaylo Tevkun—people call me Mike T. I’m the founder of Association Skateboarding Ukraine (@skateukraine), where I’ve been leading the charge for over a decade. I’ve got more than 20 years of experience as

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REST, RAJAB

Hind Rajab was five years old when she, after witnessing the killings of six of her family members, was herself murdered by members of the IDF on the 24th of January 2024. This – if anything – should have been the line; Hind’s story should have inspired some sort of

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THE ALMIGHTY ALGORITHM

Swipe.   Next reel.  Swipe.   Next Tik Tok.  Again. Again. Again. Again. It never ends. The algorithm feeds you more. It gives you what you want. It gives you what you don’t want but can’t help but watch. It chooses, out of a million billion videos, what you watch next. And

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Damaged Cells Aotearoa’s Prison System

This issue contains plenty of discussion on crime itself, its social and political foundation, and even its distortion into entertainment, but very little on its consequences. Aotearoa has 18 prisons. Under a Labour Government, our prison population dropped more than 25%, however under our right-wing coalition, has exceeded 10,000 inmates

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I’ll Be Your Favourite Author’s Favourite Author

Ever since I could remember, I’ve been a writer. It’s been in my blood since the first day I picked up a pen and discovered I could create whatever I wanted out of nothing but the ink, a random piece of paper, and whatever my imagination could possibly think to

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The True Crime Fascination

The True Crime Fascination  Morbid curiosity. On some level, we’re all guilty of it. You drive past a car crash and you’re watching to see if you can catch a glimpse of anything, you see a taped off crime scene swarming with cops and you walk a little slower past

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Nexus Breaks the News – Issue 17

Ariana Grande Fans Piss me off on Twitter:  These people are genuinely worse than Swifities. I feel like an insane chud having fights with people on this godforsaken app behind an anonymous profile, but their behaviour is getting out of hand.  Winston Peters is a Dick, as per usual.  In

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Grow Up and Start a Small Business

Lucky for Rotorua, PM Luxon met with their Business Chamber to discuss the state of the economy for small business owners. Unlucky for said business owners, Luxon had some not so nice things to say. After stating that small business owners need to simply “be adult” when facing rising costs

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Nexus Breaks the News – Issue 18

#FUMBLEOFTHECENTURY No, this isn’t about Penk’s failure to overthrow the government. No, this isn’t about Luxon basically giving TOP over to the left bloc right before they got kingmaker status. This is about your flatmate locking himself in his bedroom after texting “W Tits” to a woman on Hinge.   At least

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Human Ethics Committee Wait Times Leaving Students in the Lurch  

Wait times for the Human Ethics committee in Health research have left much to be desired, affecting the work of many Honours and Post-graduate students.     One student stated that in 2025, they submitted their research proposal to the ALPSS ethics committee in April, intending to start research in May. While

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Te Piringa Political Debate 

Waikato students and residents gather in te Pā to witness our very own political debate. With Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke representing Te Pāti Māori, Opportunity party leader Qiulae Wong, Dr. Parmjeet Parmar from Act, Hamilton East candidate Georgie Dansey (Labour), Hon Tama Potaka – our current Hamilton West MP with National, Dr

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Winston’s Wignats – NZFirst has a Nazi problem.

In a shock to a surprising amount of people, a senior NZFirst youth figure was revealed to have been connected to far-right messaging networks. Nicholas Newport/Wells, 26, a former Waikato University student, was linked to at least one social media account that repeatedly posted ‘Heil Hitler!’, and which expressed support

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The People of Hamilton Cannot Drive 

If you’ve driven anywhere in Hamilton in the last year, you’d notice there seems to be an epidemic of very poor drivers on our roads, making bad decisions and making our city look worse than it already does.   With a whopping 338 accidents or fatal crashes on our Hamilton roads

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CHRISPOCALYPSE NOW

…Or, Our Chrisis II… Or, Ya Feeling Lucky Penk? In Sam Neil’s breakout feature film role, the 1977 political thriller Sleeping Dogs, the New Zealand government slips into a military junta which mutates the country into a Fascist police state that eventually brings in American military advisors with rifles and

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Signing of MOU Represents a New Commitment to Disabled Students

On 27 May 2026, a group of disabled student activists gathered in the SUB over pizza and sodas to celebrate the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Te Awa Kōtui  Waikato Students Union and the Waikato Disabled Students Association. This small but influential club is dedicated to supporting and advocating for all disabled

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A Man You Can Bank On 

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

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Attack on Titan

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

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Season of Fear 

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

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Jack Ansett: Looks Like A Bit of Me tour

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

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Taskmaster Australia Season 5

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

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Wait, who’s Peter Parker? 

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

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Heartstopper Forever

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

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If We Were Villains

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

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Gracie Abrams — Daughter From Hell

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

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Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga 

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

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Toy Story 5 

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

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Where are the Fish-Flakes?

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

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Kōrero Mai – Issue 10 2026

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

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Kōrero Mai – Issue 7 2026

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

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Kōrero Mai

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,

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Kōrero Mai

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

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He Kura Tūroa

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

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Tikanga: Does It Evolve in a Modern World? 

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

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Tauira Māori on campus

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 

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