This week, Brian and Eda mask the sadness of farewell with other serious conversations
Yes, it’s only October, but the last issue of Craccum does indicate we are nearing the end of the year. For some this means job seeking, flat hunting, moving out of town, or fiddling your thumbs around what you should do during summer. There’s no doubt someone’s going to ask you when you’re graduating, or what you’re going to do after you graduate or if you’ve got your eye on a romantic suitor. It’s that jolly time of year for all the difficult conversations, and we’re going to deal with them all in one editorial.
With that, there’s no better place to start than the pressing issue of vaccines. It can be disappointing to hear when people see vaccines as an attack on individual rights and freedoms. Perhaps it may not be surprising, given Western medicine is weighed down by disparities in cultural outcomes, and institutional distrust. However, as with any branch of medicine, there are solutions backed with evidence, and the evidence is that vaccination is critical to restoring our collective freedoms.
Chances are (and that’s 84% at the time of writing) you’ve already had your vaccine. Congratulations for making that decision. However, that’s still a percentage of people who haven’t taken that step yet. For you, that conversation may be across the dinner table, or with someone you haven’t talked to in years, who is a friend on Facebook. So, if it’s within your means, take the time to facilitate or engage with positive and open discussion about the benefits of being vaccinated. You never know how close that conversation might be. Effective communication, which involves a lot of listening and acknowledgement. is what will push us over the 90% target.
Speaking of seeking effective communicators, another difficult decision you might have to make is whether you want to apply for Craccum editor. We’ve had a fantastic year at the helm of a community of talented creatives, and this really is a job like no other. However, life moves forward, and while this experience for us ends, we will always be grateful for the opportunities we’ve been given and people who have supported us. We have done 23 issues that we are so proud of, and that we hope you enjoyed reading.
Editing Craccum is a near full-time job, however, by splitting it between ourselves, we have managed to do it part-time. In a week, we help guide a team of hard-working paid section editors towards putting content together, communicate with contributors and put together the magazine. Publication weeks are fast-paced, and some weeks can be more intense than others. If you have any questions about the job, or how to apply, see the bottom of this editorial.
And with everything else ticked off, the final item of conversation for our figurative dinner table is goodbye. It has been a pleasure serving as your Craccum editors for 2021. It has been a turbulent year, but a highlight for us has been delivering stories to you, by you, every week of semester. From us, kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui.
Yours faithfully,
Brian Gu (he/him) & Eda Tang (she/her)
Co-editors of Craccum 2021
Link for the Craccum editor application form can be accessed here.
For any questions, please email editor@craccum.co.nz