Swinburne University of Technology — Attraction in Melbourne

AN ODE TO THE STAIRS GUY

To start, and to begin with a little story, prayers to that guy at the bottom of the stairs at Swinburne. I just drove past Burwood Rd during my late night Maccas run and saw him standing there, all by himself.

Poor lad! Hope he gets the help he needs.

That said, I have seen plenty of people (and a good number at that) hesitate before taking these stairs and got stuck in the same situation a few times after ending up taking different routes or giving in, but the determination of this bloke to not yield is almost inspirational.

I think the fact that he is still alive and kicking (although not going anywhere) possibly point to the theory that he has a secret backer that has been feeding him food this whole time. Who could it be?

That I think is a good question, but I do not know the answer, as with many great questions in life. Like what if Bill Clinton's name is indeed Bill and not a nickname for William? Well, a history class at Swinburne might teach you that, but I haven't taken the course, so who am I to answer, I'll leave that open ended.

But I know that, whatever this guy stranded at the bottom of the stairs willing to stand up to what he believe in will inspire many generations to come, almost the same way as when Plato did not yield before the Athenian court. He stays true to his virtue and will not change in the face of the adversity from the adherers of the many! Truly a tale for all times. He is sacrificing so much - too much! - even his wealth - like the ancient Plato - just to live true to what he believes is right and just.

This guy may have developed himself a ritual - dare I say a complex philosophical system on his attachment to these stairs, that he finds himself in such a moral dilemma when it takes on a new aesthetics and in turn embodies a different value system contradictory to his own and to what he believes to be universal at least to his class.

And instead of backing away and abandoning his post like so many others, he decided to stay where he was and engage in an almost dialectical battle with the stairs as an image - a projection - a simulacra of the modern Australian and wider global Political Economic landscape - that he - without a doubt - has learned from all the business classes at Swinburne University where it is confirmed that he is enrolled in given his prior rarely spoken words on Google Reviews.

Nevertheless, he needs help, and might actually be getting the help that he needs, are they his disciples? Are they funneling ideas into him? Is he doing such against his will? Am I his backer? Is he me? Is he of great Mongolian descent of the Golden Horde? Only time can tell.

But what I know for sure, is that poems, and great hymns, shall soon be made about him, and he is soon to be known widely among us commons, as the man who stood up so we may rest, as the man whose conviction so whole, so true, so beautiful that he may leave us in wonder for millennia after his days are gone.

What I know, and I want this to be echoed across the lands, to anyone dare to stand in the way of this great Australian hero - these stairs included - that we, the great mass, adhering to his virtue, have one line, and one line only - inscribed with bold letters, and with great pride - on our banners, and it says:

"A Spectre is haunting Swinburne University - The Spectre of the man who stands up to the stairs"

Long live him. May God save him, and save...

I would reconsider studying for a Business related degree here. I found the course outdated when I studied here. The course I studied was a career change for a mature aged student like myself. When I attended the open day, I asked the lecturer about whether they would teach us computer applications which was to be used in the workplace and I was told that they would, but they did not. As a result, I have been struggling to find a job in the business field. However, there was a White student in my class who was born in Australia, and the person found the job, so seems like bias also occurs as I am Brown skinned. I am an Australian Citizen though. I heard it is about contacts you have and since I do not have any contacts for jobs, then it has been a struggle. I would also advise not studying for the Postgrad Accounting/Finance course as most students are International from India, China, Vietnam, etc and they seem to get the jobs due to the contacts they have here. I basically gave up looking for the Business related job as I did not even secure an interview, a waste of my HECS. I am truly disappointed. The other thing is that although I liked the location of the UNI, I found the local people unfriendly even when I tried making friends being Brown skinned. I did find some racism here but overall it was good, however the racism I mostly encountered was externally such as in the workplace where I was the only Brown skinned Woman amongst a group of foreign European White Women (British and Eastern European) and where I was the target for bullying and racism which resulted in me leaving and was a result of having a disagreement with the White Australian Female Manager and because I was not from the same religion or "like them" (most people are atheist here by the way). The British do not deserve the friendly treatment they get from my native country. Oh and the same White Female Manager refused to give me a reference for my next job, that is how evil this miserable White Women was. The White Slavic Manager did not like Brown skinned Women. I just DO NOT understand the hate many White Women have for Women with an Indian background like myself. Many workplaces here seem toxic and have a bullying environment, in fact the first time I encountered bullying was in one of the workplaces in Melbourne, I could not understand how people could be so cruel and mistreat employees like that, however I want to mention that I encountered this behaviour from Non-Anglo White people so far like Eastern Europeans and Italians. The thing is that my country of origin has diversity in the workplace and includes all races and religions, unfortunately, I did not notice that here in the few jobs I had. In that regard, I would not recommend people with an Indian background (I am NOT from India, I am from another Western country) from my country of origin South Africa to migrate here to work due to the negative experiences I had in some workplaces. I would say, although, I studied at another UNI in Melbourne and this UNI beats the other UNI hands down as I found people here nicer.

Additional info: I think workplaces should prioritise the mental health of employees because how some people behaved towards me in some of the jobs...

I have been a student both with Swinburne University of Technology and Swinburne Online. It has been the most stressful and miserable experience I have ever had dealing with a learning institution. I would never recommend that anybody attend here. Every single Quarter, I can expect some new technical difficulty that makes enrolling in my subjects almost impossible.

Some of the issues I have experienced here include: Being withdrawn from my subjects unexpectedly (this has happened on four separate occasions, and twice it has happened with placement subjects so my placements have been cancelled).

Being told that the subjects I have been unenrolled from "aren't running this quarter", so it was "not possible that I was ever enrolled" (even after I have already accessed the learning materials, posted on the discussion boards, and started the assignments).

Being enrolled in subjects I did not enrol in (and being charged for them).

Being told I have failed to complete certain subjects that I have already completed (and being denied entry to my next subjects because I "haven't completed the prerequisites", even when I have.)

All issues usually take several phone calls and emails to resolve. I have primarily resorted to email because I consistently receive conflicting information over the phone, or promises that "we will look into this further and email you when we have a solution" with no follow-up. Even minor issues can take up to two weeks to be resolved, which means I cannot access my learning materials in that time, or placements I have organised are lost.

I once called when one of my subjects was mistakenly removed from my study plan, and the person on the phone advised me that she could re-enrol me, but only after I had withdrawn from all of my units. I then hung up, withdrew from all of my units, and when I called back I was told that it was not possible for the student advisors to enrol me in ANY of my units, and that I had to submit an amendment form requesting to be re-enrolled in all of my subjects. I was then left with no enrolled subjects at all.

Horrendous. I cannot believe I am paying these people money. The lecturers and tutors I have had have generally been invested in what they are teaching, but this means very little when I often feel as though I will not be able to emerge from this place with a degree due to their constant administrative errors.

My only wish is that these issues had emerged at the start of my degree so I could have transferred to a different...