When I was at University many years ago, doing my B.A., the Arts Faculty ran a great initiative for a semester in which the women's toilets on the first floor were open for graffiti. Women could write whatever they liked, uncensored -- and of course there were a few verses in the vein of"here I sit, broken hearted", but the vast majority of conversation was uplifting, supportive and empowering. I didn't understand how important it was then. I hadn't yet really been test

There's a kid in your class who has a brand new pencil case full of different coloured pens, pencils, highlighters, markers, crayons -- every kind of writing implement imaginable. He dresses well, has a great home life, and you know that if he loses one of his pens his mother will buy him a new one that same day. There's another kid who has only one pen. It's a beautiful pen that his grandmother gave him before his parents moved their family away from her. A fountain pen t

Lately, Gold Coast news has been full of "the ice epidemic", focussing on teenagers. I know that from a position of middle class, middle-aged privilege it's easy to write off these young people as "scum" or "worthless pieces of trash" as has been reported. Let me make one thing perfectly clear: I hate methamphetamine. I hate the people who sell it to children and I hate seeing what it does to these bright young souls gone dull and burned out long before their time. I know it