Connection to Flinders
Photography by AMY BENNETT.
Photography by AMY BENNETT.
We would like to begin by acknowledging the Kaurna People, Traditional Custodians of the land on which we gather today, and to pay our respects to all Elders past and present. I extend this respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As the Flinders University website states, the site of Flinders’ Bedford Park used to be named Burbank. Previously, this site was used as a horse station, a reformatory for young male offenders, and a sanatorium for soldiers. In 1964, the Liberal Government appointed eight hectares of this land to be utilised as a teacher’s collage in the near future. In 1966, the college was named ‘Flinders University’ in honour of Matthew Flinders, an English sailor who surveyed and explored the South Australian coastline in 1802.
Peter Karmel was Flinders University’s founding Vice Chancellor. When planning for the opening of Flinders’ Karmel stated, ‘We want to experiment and experiment bravely.’ Being true to his word, Karmel devised a non-traditional academic structure for the university and aimed at broadening student experiences. Karmel established four schools: Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences, and Language and Literature. When the University opened, it had a total of 400 students and 90 staff. 70 of these students were medical students, 150 in sciences, and 250 in arts. This is just a brief history of how the university, which both my sister and I have attended for the past four and three years respectively, came to be. We both graduate at the end of this year, completing our degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Criminology.
SHERIDAN
Throughout 2020, all of my classes have been online, for both semester one and semester two. But before that, my sister and I would have weekly lunches at the Law and Commerce building’s café whenever our schedules allowed it. This was a way Flinders had helped to keep the connection I have to my twin sister. My life is a lot different to hers in some ways. As mentioned in one of my previous articles, I moved from Victor Harbor when I started uni, but she wasn’t able to. Now, it’s an hours drive each way to see each other. Going to the same uni and having classes in the same buildings has helped us see one another more frequently and become as close as we used to be. Another important connection to me is Empire Times itself. It is the first place I have had my writing published. I will always remember that the university’s magazine was where I began to be published.
JASMINE
My connection to Flinders has changed over the four years I have spent studying, but one thing has stayed constant: my love for the campus. Walking through the buildings, studying in the library, and having lunch in the plaza makes me feel part of the Flinders community. I’m not a very social person, and didn’t attend many of the planned events, but the campus still made me feel connected to others around me, and when my sister joined the university, it helped strengthen my connection with her. At the end of this year, I am graduating from my Bachelor of Criminology degree, but I don’t think I am ready to let go of the university and its campus, and am considering doing honours or even another degree entirely! With whatever I choose to do, my connection with Flinders won’t end, even if it will change.
No matter what your connection to Flinders University is, whether you have a favourite study spot, favourite café, lecturers, classmates, or special hide-away, it is unlikely that you will forget the university you have (or will) attend for multiple years.
MADDIE
Memory is our relationship with people and places. It can be passed down through generations with storytelling or rituals: re-experienced in performances or museums, celebrated in festivals and parades, and mourned in funerals and memorials. These are our ways to imprint our memory in a tangible way so that it will never be forgotten, steering us away from repeating mistakes. They allow us to remember injustices and our own faults so that we, as individuals and as a society, can do better and be better.
Memory is our personal subjective reconstruction of what happened and can never be wholly true. Two individuals can share the same history but remember a different version of events. Memory fades with time, just like other parts of our body, both physical and mental. Although, when tied to a location, some memories may linger a little longer. Places that we have a special connection to, such as our childhood homes or where something life-changing occurred, can bring back memories from years ago.
The Bedford Park campus is a maze that I have wandered through countless times, having studied on both sides of the lake. I’ve been into every building at one time or another and each one evokes a different memory and different stage in my life. In first year, I spent a lot of time with my high school friends, catching up with them weekly at the Tavern or the Laneway. In second year, between being on different campuses and having different timetables, catching up became difficult. However, during that time, there were two specific instances where I met up with people, and, though unexpected, it had a real impact on me. I met one randomly on a Social Sciences staircase, and had an important chat with the other on a Bedford Pine Forest path. By third year, I was reaching the end of my degree and I had to figure what I was to do next, when I suddenly realised that each time I was in a particular tutorial room or spot in the Hub it could very well be my last moment there.
In my two later years, I had really gotten into the groove of university life, which felt quite distinct from the mundane patten of high school. I enjoyed my first three years at university, where topics and rooms changed each semester but I saw the same familiar faces all year round. I was comfortable with the predictability of it. In the break I had the freedom to see friends and work on my hobbies. I travelled to Melbourne for a week and went on a four day long road-trip to Mount Gambier and back. But fourth year has had a different rhythm to it. It has been one of—if not the—most difficult times of my life for a multitude of reasons, though I have no doubt that 2020 was a dud of a year for most. Staying motivated and up to date with university tasks has been challenging, though I expect it to be one of the most worthwhile and rewarding years yet.
After this chapter of my life ends, I am not sure what is exactly in store for me. I have an idea of where I would like to be working and where I want to be in my life, but no concrete plans currently to put that into motion. It is scary with the future being so unknown and uncertainty lingering in the air. Sometimes I feel lost and alone, for the first time not having planned my next step. Walking around the Bedford Park campus makes me feel a little better, reminding me of everything I’ve been through and the bonds that I have made, knowing that I am not alone and that some things have changed for the better. Some places in particular have a strong hold on me, bringing back memories with different people at different times in my life: when I caught up regularly with a large group, or when a very personal moment is shared between two friends; seeing an old school mate and pausing for a moment, or sometimes it’s a memory of an old school trip.
Memory is grounded by our emotions. When something changes me that has a large impact, I remember how I felt at the time. I have had conversations with people and not remember what was spoken between us that day but rather what I was feeling. Similarly, when I pass places important to me, they evoke particular emotions, whether it’s a feeling of uneasiness or one of comfort. I have made both great and poor decisions in my life and while I’ve accomplished a lot, there are some things I regret; there are opportunities I didn’t chase, friendships I let slide, and problems I wished I’d noticed sooner. Living in the past, in my fear, can hold me back. I just have to keep looking forward and be brave for whatever comes my way, good or bad. The past has shaped me and my future, but I choose what path I take.
words by
SHERIDAN PHILLIPS, JASMINE PHILLIPS & MADDIE HAND
photography by
AMY BENNETT
Photography by AMY BENNETT.
EDITORIAL NOTE: This article has been reuploaded and was originally published in 2020.