Hello brothers and sisters! My name is Marcus, and I'm a 5^th year Engineering/Commerce student (wait I mean Science / and more Science student). Admittedly I only started going to CU Public Meetings last year, and before that I was too scared to come along. I would always read the chalkings and think that it was a meeting for extremists and bigots. Then I went to a public meeting and realized that I was very wrong. Since then I've only met awesome, God-devoted people, and I wish that I had come to CU earlier! 

Fear is what stops us from obeying God. It was only the week before Easter that I finally got baptized at Holy Trinity in Doncaster, and that event was 4 years in the making. In 2005 I was introduced to Jesus by a high school friend, and I've been walking with Jesus ever since. But it took me 4 years to overcome my fear and publicly declare my faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.  

My biggest fear was causing my family to turn away from God, and maybe even disown me for committing my life to Jesus. I felt like I was walking a tight-rope – I wanted to be obedient to God and grow in spiritual-maturity, but I wanted to find the right time to be baptized such that my family would come to church and be saved. I kept waiting for the perfect time, but it never seemed to come. For many years I prayed over it, and then I started to understand when Jesus says "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." (Luke 18:29-30). My family might not support me, but my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would always love me and I would always have my new family with many brothers and sisters in Christ. So I made a decision this year to do so, and I sat down my family members one at a time and told them of my decision to be baptized. Of course they had major concerns, but in God's massive grace my entire family came to my baptism and I was able to testify about Jesus. Not only this but I was able to tell them the message that I would always be there to minister to them, that they would know Jesus and love Him too! I continue to pray for my family, and through God's grace I know I'll still have plenty of chances to introduce them to Jesus.  

It's amazing how God blesses us when we obey and overcome our fears. Remember that "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak" (Isaiah 40:29), so don't be scared to testify about Jesus (even to your most sceptical science-friend at uni). If you're thinking about being baptised, it's awesome and a great way to testify about Jesus to your loved ones. Sometimes you can't wait for the perfect opportunity, but by God's grace He can make it one.

Hedgehog is a much-loved slice.¹ Indeed, at least seven places in Union House sell this delicious (did you say nauseous?) baked good. But do they all maintain the good name of hedgehog? We compared three hedgehogs on basics (price, service), appearance and taste. Our dedicated researchers come from a variety of hedgehog backgrounds (indeed, Leon kept mistakenly referring to "brownies"), and were committed to providing an unbiased review. Hopefully our findings will guide you in your future quest for a truly satisfying hedgehog experience. 

Conditions: Just in case you want to repeat our experiment, the research was conducted on a sunny Friday, outside at lunch-hour. Unfortunately we had all been eating different things for lunch (bolognaise, curry & coke, bananas) but as a base line we took a round of fennel. Between tastings we attempted to cleanse our palate with water, mandarin, and in Rebecca's case, lip gloss. Unfortunately, Nonie dropped the first hedgehog on the ground (still in its bag), but we introduced this as a Test of Structural Integrity, and it was duly applied to the remaining test hedgehogs. 

HEDGEHOG ONE: CHILL OUT

Cost $2.50. Quick and friendly service, rated 4 out of 5.

Appearance

This rectangle hedgehog was rather lopsided (perhaps due to the Test Drop) -  reminiscent of home-made versions (Zou & Mitchell, 2008).Rebecca was suspicious of the fake ripple icing. Bei-En lamented a paucity of icing overall. There was severe Knife-Drawback (i.e. uneven edges, mistaken cuts)(see fig. 1).The Olfaction Rating was high – biscuity with a hint of coconut (Rebecca was concerned about the Sniff-Up Risk; sniffing too enthusiastically might cause one to inhale some of the crumbs).

On eating

Unfortunately, this hedgehog was irreconcilably floury. The icing appeared to be made from compound chocolate and was too hard, resulting in a Dough-Icing Texture Mismatch. Generally disappointing. 

HEDGEHOG TWO: PLUSH FISH

Cost $2.50. Queueing system bamboozled Nonie. Busy. Service rating 3 out of 5.

Appearance

There were no adverse effects of Test Drop. Leon recommends that "hard-edged commerce students" may appreciate the high icing and sharp corners(see fig. 2). Nonie was unsure about the drizzled machine icing – obvious evidence of their mass production. Bei-En was confused by the uneven biscuit distribution – where should one begin eating? Unfortunately, on cutting the slice there was Depth Compression, and Icing-Base Fragmentation. However, we unanimously predicted that this hedgehog would taste best.

On eating

The icing was creamy and delicious. Bei-En believed it could even be sold as a separate entity. However, on reflection, perhaps this was really just fudge on hedgehog base – enjoyable, but not very traditional. Strangely, this hedgehog did not provide Olfactory Delight (it didn't even smell like sushi). 

HEDGEHOG THREE: THE VEGIE PATCH CAFE

Cost $2.80. Bei-En's café nous brought swift results. Service rating 3.5 out of 5.

Appearance

There was poor Biscuit-to-Dough Interface as viewed from the cross-section (see fig. 3) – obviously not a recently sliced slice. Rebecca noticed that the biscuit pieces were multi-directionally aligned, but this factor was considered irrelevant by other researchers (when debate threatened to undermine the project we had to put our differences aside). Unfortunately, the Test Drop had caused some Icing Fatigue and Break-Up. Bei-En valued the coconut sprinkles on top, although there was a severe lack of icing overall. Rebecca was pleased with the white paper bag, which clearly says "I am a slice" (brown paper bags suggest potato cakes etc.). Leon agreed that it was an "honest presentation".

On eating

Despite its unfortunate appearance, this hedgehog was surprisingly good. Its buttery taste and distinguishing biscuit crunch were enthusiastically enjoyed by all. Bei-En remarked that it was very dense, and could be used to break Someone's Head (your extra 30 cents' worth).  

Overall rating:

Chill out = 5.5 (Rebecca 1.5, Bei-En 2.5, Leon 1.0, Nonie, 0.5)

Plush Fish = 14 (Rebecca 3.0, Bei-En 3.0, Leon 3.5, Nonie, 4.5)

Vegie Patch = 16 (Rebecca 4.5, Bei-En 3.5, Leon 4.0, Nonie 4.0) 

Blind taster test: To test our findings, an independent taster - Richie - sampled the three hedgehogs under the Eyes Shut experimental condition. He rated Vegie Patch as the best, with a Smooth Texture and Taste that was Not Overpowering. Chill Out came in Second, despite being Too Cakey and Crumbly. Richie Objected to the Creaminess and Richness of the Plush Fish icing, though he acknowledged that Others May Enjoy this Factor.  

Final remarks: Never buy Hedgehog from Chill Out, unless You want the Olfactory Sensation alone. If it's all about the Icing For You, or you want a Choc Hit, go to Plush Fish. But Today's Surprising Winner, the Underdog from Vegie Patch, is An Unassuming Hedgehog with Great Taste and Texture. However, If You Want To Splash Out, The Researchers Recommend That The Ultimate Slice Would Be Vegie Patch Base With Plush Fish Icing.  

Additional lessons learned: if you forget to bring utensils to uni bluezone will be happy to provide you with a carving knife free of questions also hedgehog research is not deemed appropriate in the maths library if any offending hedgehogs are found on your person you will be asked to leave immediately please are you leaving hurry up and leave 

¹ We were hoping you wouldn't check up on our references.

The photos will go on the website soon hopefully

Hey all,

I'd like to briefly write a slosh of things I'd like to say about the outer northern suburbs which I grew up and still live in, since a few people had interest in it. Ever since I started uni, the immediate thing that struck me was the tremendous difference of culture. Melbourne Uni was a explosion of different tastes, fashion, mannerisms, ways of talking and relating to people. The mindset of people were all just remarkably different.

I say this because I grew up in the outer north suburbs of Melbourne. Coming from a "tertiary-disadvantaged" school, and then coming to Melbourne Uni was a great challenge on a cultural level – there were so many differences which I think made me think I was in a totally different country. In my area, saying hi to people is quite simple: To first say "Yo" in a relaxed and casual way (and you had to look it too by wearing a hoodie, pointing your finger at them like a gun, followed by "Wassup" while getting your arms out, as though you're going for a hug. It's much more difficult at Melbourne Uni because talking to people like staff take up so much effort. One must say "Excuse me, I have a question that would be most beneficial in stimulating a mutual relationship", preferably putting on an attempted British accent whilst wearing a suit and tie.

In other words, there is a sense of the "upper-classiness" of Melbourne Uni. Fashion is sophisticated, ranging from clothes that look awesome despite seemingly made from rags. I don't think anything is wrong with that - it just seems that too much effort goes into fashion. It just seems like saying "Have a good day, sir" (possibly also with a slight British accent) would be much more common-place in the city than my area.

The 13-30 year old age demographic in my area is a mix of what the world knows as "Kath & Kims" ("Oi, you'd see that – strewth!"), "emos" listening to Green Day with their hoodies and baggy pants that hang too low, and the "Muzzas" whom predominantly make up the culture around my area.

A deleted Wikipedia page on "Muzza" states:

"…An Australian English slang word generally used in Melbourne, Victoria to describe the young male subculture that has developed in the city's suburbs."

"…began to emerge as a distinct subculture in Australian society in the mid 1990s. Coinciding with the increased popularity of electronic music, as well as the large influx of Japanese imported vehicles into Australia."

"…there are consistencies between muzzas that are common traits, including: a very vocal pride in their heritage, a love of cars, a general distaste for any kind of rules or authority, an obsession with house/dance music, and a strong interest in loitering around local fast food outlets."

"Victoria Police have cracked down in recent years on hooning and street racing, much of which is associated with the muzza subculture."

"Muzzas" have always surrounded me, and like culture – it spreads out. Before a Christian, the culture subtly influenced me, had taken hold of me, it shaped partially my attitude to certain things.

As a Christian, and starting on a clean slate, I now try to relate to the culture around me. I've been in cars where the guy boasts about his acceleration of his "fully sick VL turbo". I've been in groups of people with multiple cars hanging out (or "loitering") in the car park of McDonalds at 10pm.

I do enjoy cars, the dance/electronica music, the Melbourne Shuffle dance, theunusual ways that relationships are built, but they are not my ultimate things.  By relating to them to show that God exists to love them, to wash them, and to take their broken lives and make it anew. Because, in the end, they are imperfect people who also suffer, but need hope in the living Lord Jesus Christ.

Because bro, like cos Jesus Christ has risen mate, everybody's gotta know him – fully sick man!

(One thing I am still amazed at though – nobody seems to have heard about the double cheek kiss greet. It possibly seems to be another one of those traditions which exists in my area at least, but strangely nobody has heard about them around the inner suburbs.)