Semper Floreat is the University of Queensland Union's free & independent student newspaper.
Generative AI has been a hot topic, with many conversations about how it is impacting different communities. A recent example is the generators that power the supercomputers (named Colossus) that train Grok, Twitter’s AI bot, and how they’re slowly poisoning a small, historically Black community in South Memphis, Tennessee called Boxtown. What is happening in […]
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When I was younger, I connected to writing and reading more than to speech. Despite loving to socialise, at times speaking was more tiring than rewarding. This sparked my desire to learn Auslan. It came from curiosity of how it would be to speak a language that was visual-spatial rather than verbal. Returning to UQ […]
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The Brisbane Metro has many things: a whimsical theme tune. A hefty price tag. A cooler cousin. What it does not have, I’ve personally discovered, is a reliably pleasant, accessible experience. In my younger and more innocent days upon the first rollout of the Metro last year, when I (an ambulatory wheelchair user) still had […]
Continue ReadingBut I don’t know any ‘healthy’ person that wouldn’t BUCKLE, trying to JUGGLE the appointments, the MEDICATIONS, the societal EXPECTATIONS that we are forced to CONQUER. They say that our experiences make us STRONGER… but being queer, being disabled, being anything other than a rich white man is a death sentence. We are supposed to […]
Continue ReadingWritten by Cass Hayward Views: 0
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Whether you’ve just started at UQ or you’re a continuing student looking for ideas, I’ve got you. Starting at UQ as an autistic/neurodivergent student is pretty difficult – while it’s started to improve in recent years, the path is still cloudy and a lot of the help available is hidden behind hours of research. Now […]
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Just around the corner from Ipswich train station is an intimate bar that serves as a gallery, workshop, and live music venue, as well as a reminder that intersectional, inclusive spaces can be found everywhere. I’d come to see a punk music show but discovered a beautiful expression of the joy of community. The walls […]
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Growing up, Slowed Down As rain falls, a seed digs its roots. But what happens if it never sprouts? GDP rises, living standards have improved, yet why isn’t the nation growing? Growth should equal progress, right? Have a closer look at reality: Young Australians are taking longer to enter full time employment, to try alcohol, […]
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What does it mean to be Australian? A contentious question to put it slightly. For a country of twenty-six million, the question of an Australian identity is blurred. Some argue the very fabric of our establishment is flawed – built on the dispossession of Indigenous people. Others argue that Australia has lost touch with its […]
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Early this April, when British alternative band Pulp released their first album single in 24 years, fans were relatively united in their enjoyment of the track. But controversy swiftly developed among certain sets of Instagram commenters upon the rather shocking discovery that the accompanying music video, “directed” by frontman Jarvis Cocker, was his attempt to […]
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