Brennan Justice & Leadership Program Handbook 2021 - A collaborative initiative of UTS Law and the UTS Law Students' Society
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Brennan Justice &
Leadership Program
Handbook 2021
A collaborative initiative of UTS Law
and the UTS Law Students’ Society
UTS CRICOS PROVIDER CODE 00099F
PROVIDER
UTS CRICOS
TS CRICOS CODE 00099F
CODE 00099F
PROVIDER
1 January 2021
Contents Contents 1 1. Program Objectives and Structure 1 a. What is the Brennan Program? 1 b. Components of the Program 1 2. The Brennan Justice and Leadership Award 2 a. About the Award 2 b. Completion of the Award 2 3. Brennan Program registration and communication 3 a. Registering with the Brennan Program 3 b. Brennan Program Noticeboard on Canvas Error! Bookmark not defined. c. Communication channels for Brennan Program 4 d. Contacting the Brennan Program 4 4. Reflections on Justice (ROJ) 5 a. Description and purpose of the reflections component 5 b. The range of activities and Award requirements 5 c. Capping ROJ points 11 d. How to log ROJ activities: 11 e. Launch of Vieple – Share your thoughts via video 12 5. Leadership through Service (LTS) 13 a. General requirements and rationale 13 b. What qualifies as LTS? 13 c. Tiering and capping LTS hours 14 d. Choosing a service activity and pre-approval 14 e. How to log LTS hours under the Program 15 f. Not sure how to claim in CareerHub? 15 6. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood 16 7. Gaining dual recognition for volunteer and community service 17 1 January 2021 1
1. Program Objectives and Structure
a. What is the Brennan Program?
The Brennan Program is a free, voluntary program for UTS Law students that seeks to strengthen the
justice consciousness, idealism and sense of service that participants bring to their studies and later
professional work.
Program Objectives
• Aims to develop each student’s capacity for personal and professional leadership.
• Offers an outlet for students to find a sense of wellbeing, fulfilment and satisfaction in their
studies and later professional work.
• Strengthens social justice awareness.
The Brennan Justice and Leadership Program was introduced in 2011 as a joint initiative of the UTS
Faculty of Law and the UTS Law Students’ Society. It is named for Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE,
former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia and UTS Chancellor (1999-2005). His life and
career exemplify the qualities of professional leadership, service and excellence that the Program
seeks to nurture.
With nearly 600 students in its inaugural year of 2011, and over 1,600 students currently registered,
the Program is indicative of UTS Law students’ interest in social justice and their desire to go beyond
the academic curriculum.
b. Components of the Program
The Program has two separate components of reflection and service.
Reflections on Justice (ROJ)
Throughout each academic year we offer diverse reflection opportunities where students can engage
with the themes of justice and its social contexts. These opportunities include: film screenings, panel
discussions, the annual Brennan Justice Photography Competitions, Discussion Groups, and the
Brennan book program. We also encourage students to attend external events of interest that will
also count towards the Program. Please refer to the Reflections on Justice section of this handbook
for more information.
Leadership through Service (LTS)
The Leadership through Service Component of the Program calls for students to contribute voluntary
service (both legal and non-legal in nature) over the course of their studies. Please refer to the
Leadership through Service section of this handbook for more information.
We recognise that much will depend upon your other commitments, and that these will vary from
session to session. Feel free to continually vary your level of activity and engagement with the
Program, and participate when you are able to.
1 January 2021 12. The Brennan Justice and
Leadership Award
a. About the Award
The Brennan Justice and Leadership Award is presented to students who complete the Brennan Program.
In order to take out the Award you must earn 100 Reflections on Justice points, and the required
Leadership through Service hours according to the pro-rata allocation outlined in section 5A.
Upon graduation, the Brennan Justice and Leadership Award will appear on your official transcript and
Australian Higher Education Graduation (AHEG) Statement. You will also be featured in the annual
Brennan Yearbook, acknowledged at the annual Brennan Celebration Evening, and receive a letter from
the Faculty Dean in recognition of your achievement. The program is highly regarded by the legal
profession and other employers.
Although all students are encouraged to participate in the Program, only those who satisfy the
requirements of the Program will receive the Award.
b. Completion of the Award
The Brennan Program has two claim deadlines a year and these typically occur in March and August. If
you are seeking the Brennan Justice and Leadership Award, it is crucial you reach out to us at
brennanprogram@uts.edu.au to advise this, and check the Facebook page to diarise when claim
deadlines are due, so you don't miss out.
We recommend you aim to have all your claims in CareerHub before finishing your last subjects in your
final session at UTS. Your last session usually falls close to one of the claim deadlines.
You will be able to track your progress on CareerHub and see how far along you are in the Program,
however, if you are unsure of what hours or points you have accrued, you can contact the Program
Administrator for guidance and advice.
If you are nearing completion and we haven’t been in touch yet, please get in touch!
1 January 2021 23. Brennan Program registration and
communication
a. Registering with the Brennan Program
To officially start participating in the Brennan Program, you need to register via UTS CareerHub at
https://careerhub.uts.edu.au/. Click on “Dashboard; as a current Law student, you should be able to see
the ‘Brennan Justice and Leadership Program’ on the left hand side of your screen. Fill out the registration
form and you will gain access to the Program.
Registration continues while you are enrolled in a UTS law degree, and ends upon your graduation. You
will be able to track your progress on CareerHub and see how far along you are in the Program.
Register to participate in the Program by
clicking on the “Submit Brennan Program
Registration” link via CareerHub.
b. Brennan Program Noticeboard on Canvas
Once registered on CareerHub, you will be granted access to the Brennan Program noticeboard on
Canvas. Watch this space during 2021, your membership will automatically enrol you.
This noticeboard contains resources for Brennan participants including:
• announcements regarding upcoming social justice lectures and seminars
• program guides and contacts
• useful reading material
1 January 2021 3c. Communication channels for Brennan Program
Canvas: Announcements are posted regularly on the Brennan Program noticeboard on Canvas to
inform you of new lectures and other activities and opportunities available under the Program.
Newsletters: Regular emails are sent to all students registered with the Program, containing a digest
of recent announcements, articles and voluntary opportunities. Please ensure you have added
brennanprogram@uts.edu.au to your Outlook contact list to avoid these emails going to your Junk
Inbox.
Web: There are two primary web pages for the Brennan Program where you can find out all you
need to know about getting started in the Program, relevant contact details, program FAQS. These
web pages are located at the UTS Faculty of Law and UTS Law Students’ Society (LSS) websites:
Faculty: www.uts.edu.au/brennanprogram
LSS: www.utslss.com/social-justice/brennan-program
Social Media:
• UTS Law Brennan Program (@UTSBrennanProgram)
• The Brennan Collective Facebook Group
Brennan Program FAQs are published separately - see the Program home page. They address
many questions and are a great point of reference!
d. Contacting the Brennan Program
Enquiries about the Program should be directed to the Program Administrator:
Crystal McLoughlin, Student Programs Coordinator, UTS Law
brennanprogram@uts.edu.au
Brennan Joint Directors:
Dr. Jane Wangmann Georgina Hedge Mac Middleton
Senior Lecturer Brennan Program Co-Director Brennan Program Co-Director
UTS Faculty of Law UTS Law Students’ Society UTS Law Students’ Society
jane.wangmann@uts.edu.au brennan@utslss.com brennan@utslss.com
1 January 2021 44. Reflections on Justice (ROJ)
a. Description and purpose of the reflections component
Reflections on Justice (ROJ) is designed to stimulate an intellectual engagement with the idea of
justice, which will continue throughout the course of your study and into your professional life. The
idea is that you will reflect upon what you learn at these events and activities, in order to broaden
your legal educational experience and increase awareness of issues of social justice, both in our
community and in a global sense. In addition to this, the ROJ component aims to generate a group
conversation about justice among students.
You may attend both internal UTS and external lectures on justice, join Discussion Groups to reflect
on the idea of justice in general intellectual and specific social contexts, participate in the Brennan
Book Program, or choose to express issues of justice creatively by entering the annual Brennan
Justice Photography Competition, submitting a substantial reflective piece, a poem, a podcast or a
short film to name a few.
All activities are assigned points. For example, most lectures are worth 5 ROJ points (unless
otherwise stated) and participation in five (5) Discussion Group meetings is worth 20 points. Students
must earn a total of 100 ROJ points to be eligible for the Brennan Justice and Leadership Award.
There will be several Program events run on campus each session. However, students can also
count their attendance at external events, provided they check with the Program administrator
by email.
b. The range of activities and Award requirements
A series of lectures, seminars and film screenings are held regularly throughout the year. These
activities are advertised on the Program website, the Brennan Program Canvas noticeboard, Brennan
emails, Facebook, and CareerHub.
• Brennan Program Events (5 points each)
You must RSVP for any Brennan Program events in the CareerHub “Brennan Program Events”
section. Click on the “Book into ‘Brennan Events’ link and you will be taken to a screen where you can
see the current events available.
Attendance at each event accrues a standard 5 points under the Program, however, you must make
sure that your name is marked off at the event in order to claim the points.
Occasionally students can accrue bonus points by writing a reflective piece for the annual Yearbook, if
you feel compelled to do this, get in touch ahead of the event!
• External events credited towards the Program (5 points each, unless
otherwise agreed)
Attending external lectures, seminars and conferences that have a justice dimension will generally
earn participants 5 ROJ points each. These external events are either advertised by the Program, or
can be approved for points on an ad hoc basis by the Program Administrator (5 points each unless
otherwise approved). You are also encouraged to identify, share and attend external lectures,
seminars and conferences by emailing brennanprogram@uts.edu.au. We will notify students of the
event details and advise if it attracts points under the Program.
External events will require you to upload proof of attendance at the event (e.g. ticket, registration
confirmation) or compose a (350 word) reflective note in the “External Event Claim Form” section in
1 January 2021 5CareerHub.
Claims submitted ahead of the event will not be approved. It is very important that students claim for
events they have actually attended. The Brennan Administrator reserves the right to ask a Brennan
participant to support their claim through a 350 word reflection at any time.
• Law and Justice Discussion Groups (20 points)
You are encouraged to join and contribute to a Law and Justice Discussion Group. These groups
comprise of 6-8 students and meet five times each session to reflect on ideas of justice that emerge.
You can share your experiences and perspectives, assist each other’s reading and exploration, and to
extend the conversation in ways that reflect the particular insights and interests of group members.
The groups will be self-managed and operate for a single session only (i.e. Autumn/Spring/Summer),
although some groups may choose to continue together as a group for another session, by
arrangement with the LSS Co-Director. You can participate in more than one Discussion Group over
the years, but be sure to email the Brennan Administrator if you are a second time participant.
Membership of a Discussion Group accrues 20 ROJ points.
You must enter your five reflections of 200 words in the ‘Discussion Group Claim Form’ Section of
CareerHub after each catch up.
Discussion Group Leaders - Students that are confirmed as Group Leaders are eligible to claim LTS
hours for their time in group coordination. Details are communicated via the LSS Brennan Director.
• Reflective blog (10 points)
You can maintain a reflective blog with at least seven different entries, posted across a span of
several months to reveal a developing perspective on a particular social justice issues, with each entry
being at least 350 words in length (10 points in total). Enter your blog posts in the ‘Reflective Blog’
section in CareerHub, upon submission of the seventh post your blog will automatically be sent to the
Program Administrator for approval.
• Substantial reflective piece (10 – 20 points)
You can submit a substantial reflective piece through creative writing, an essay, law reform
submission, podcast, video, short film or some other form of media not created or used for student
assessment or any other activity. We encourage Brennanites to be as creative as they would like!
You should discuss your project in advance with the Program Administrator (10-20 points). You can
upload your reflective piece to the ‘Substantial Reflective Piece’ section on CareerHub.
• Brennan Book Program (20 points)
Each year, we invite all Brennanites, faculty and staff, to read the same book, giving everyone a
chance to come to the Brennan Program with something in common. We hope it becomes a way to
open up conversations between all years of the Program, and between students and staff.
For 2021, we’ve chosen a variety of non-fiction and fiction options which you are welcome to choose
from or read a few! NOTE: Within one year there is a cap of two book reflections.
Non-Fiction
Evicted: Poverty And Profit In The American City' by Matthew Desmond.
Winner of 2017’s Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by
Princeton sociologist and MacArthur Fellow Matthew Desmond explores extreme poverty, affordable
housing and economic exploitation in America. This book follows eight Milwaukee families over 18 months
as they struggle in the face of racism, classism, greed and political neglect to keep a roof over their heads.
And if, or rather when they fail to do so, we then see the toll and burden an eviction can have. With rent in
the poorest of neighbourhoods reaching upwards of 70-80% of their income, one mistake or break in luck
can put families out on the street, spiralling even deeper into poverty, poverty that can be generational. It’s
the deepest of dives into how housing insecurity disproportionately impacts low-income communities, and,
most importantly, how many people profit off of these families and lack of governance. Nevertheless,
Desmond doesn’t just leave you hopeless in the end. He dissects many of these troubling circumstances
down to the policies that are responsible, to then offer some sort of reconciliation for immediate change
and future generations.
1 January 2021 6‘The End of Policing’ by Alex S. Vitale. One of the primary factors motivating the Black Lives Matter protests across the globe was a clear symbol of injustice: police brutality. In End of Policing, professor of sociology at Brooklyn College Alex S. Vitale takes to task the entire concept of modern policing. Among other subjects, Vitale delves into research that questions policing’s place in contemporary society and explores alternatives, like restorative justice and harm reduction that undercut crime while ensuring communal safety. Though the insightful hardcopy read is sold out on Verso’s site, its publisher is offering the ebook and paperback at a reduced rate in light of the protests. ‘Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination’ by Toni Morrison. Playing in the Dark, adapted from one of Toni Morrison’s lecture series, treats white American literature as an outgrowth of a racist society. Looking at the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, Ernest Hemingway and others, she examines how literature, perhaps by extension all creative practices, overtly and covertly evoke Blackness to shape white identity. One of her most powerful arguments (and particularly resonant today), criticizes attempts to separate art from race, arguing the themes we most associate with white American literature—masculinity, individualism, destiny—stemmed from “the potent and ego-reinforcing presence of an Africanist population.” The book delivers a powerful message: no creative industry is apolitical and many are often complicit. ‘See what you made me do: Power, Control and Domestic Abuse’ by Jess Hill. Investigative journalist Jess Hill puts perpetrators – and the systems that enable them – in the spotlight. See What You Made Me Do is a deep dive into the abuse so many women and children experience – abuse that is often reinforced by the justice system they trust to protect them.Combining forensic research with riveting storytelling, See What You Made Me Do radically rethinks how to confront the national crisis of fear and abuse in our homes. ‘Eggshell Skull’ by Bri Lee. Bri Lee offers insight into her experience through the Australian legal system; first as the daughter of a policeman, then as a law student, and finally as a judge's associate in both metropolitan and regional Queensland-where justice can look very different, especially for women.The injustice Bri witnessed, mourned and raged over every day finally forced her to confront her own personal history, one she'd vowed never to tell. And this is how, after years of struggle, she found herself on the other side of the courtroom, telling her story. Eggshell Skull is a haunting appraisal of modern Australia from a new and essential voice. ‘What the Colonists Never Knew: A History of Aboriginal Sydney’ by Dennis Foley and Peter Read. What the Colonists Never Knew paints a vivid picture of what it was like to grow up Aboriginal in Sydney, alongside the colonists, from 1788 to the present. Dennis, the grandson of Clarice Malinda Lougher, the last practising matriarch of the Gai-mariagal clan, was immersed in cultural knowledge and lore from an early age. Through his eyes we see a Sydney of totemic landscapes resonating with ceremonial sites and ancestral activity, song-lines and walking tracks, habitat caves and middens, and share memories of what has been lost. Through the stories so generously told we may reflect on what it means to be a stolen child and one of the 'silent generations', and to fight to safeguard culture and identity. We can sense the responsibility of being the senior Gai-mariagal and the last of the storytellers, and the urgency to document and share the knowledge bestowed on him by generations of his family. ‘Truganini’ by Cassandra Pybus. Cassandra Pybus's ancestors told a story of an old Aboriginal woman who would wander across their farm on Bruny Island, in south-east Tasmania, in the 1850s and 1860s. As a child, Cassandra didn't know this woman was Truganini, and that Truganini was walking over the country of her clan, the Nuenonne. For nearly seven decades, Truganini lived through a psychological and cultural shift more extreme than we can imagine. But her life was much more than a regrettable tragedy. Now Cassandra has examined the original eyewitness accounts to write Truganini's extraordinary story in full. ‘Treaty’ by George Williams and Harry Hobbs. The leading book on the treaty debate in Australia has been fully revised. This second edition takes a fresh look at modern treaty-making between Indigenous peoples and governments in Australia. Exploring the 1 January 2021 7
why, where, and how of treaty, it concludes by offering seven strategies for achieving treaty. ‘The Truth Hurts’ by Andrew Boe. Criminal justice systems are not designed to seek the truth. In places like Australia, court proceedings remain an adversarial blood sport at times distorted by smoke and mirrors or failed by individual shortcomings. Navigating it is difficult and uncertain for any one of us but more so if you are poor, not white - or not white enough - not a straight male or have no formal education. Simply put, the most vulnerable among us are unfairly exposed to unjust outcomes. You may like to listen to this podcast where Boe is interviewed on his book. ‘Forgotten War’ by Henry Reynolds. Australia is dotted with memorials to soldiers who fought in wars overseas. Why are there no official memorials or commemorations of the wars that were fought on Australian soil between Aborigines and white colonists? Why is it more controversial to talk about the frontier war now than it was one hundred years ago? Forgotten War continues the story told in Henry Reynolds seminal book The Other Side of the Frontier, which argued that the settlement of Australia had a high level of violence and conflict that we chose to ignore. That book prompted a flowering of research and fieldwork that Reynolds draws on here to give a thorough and systematic account of what caused the frontier wars between white colonists and Aborigines, how many people died and whether the colonists themselves saw frontier conflict as a form of warfare. It is particularly timely as we approach the centenary of WWI. This powerful book makes it clear that there can be no reconciliation without acknowledging the wars fought on our own soil. ‘Upturn: A better normal after COVID-19’ by Tanya Plibersek. COVID-19 has resulted in changes none of us could have imagined, but what happens next? If you had asked most people a year ago, they would have told you there was no way that school children could shift overnight to online learning; that it was impossible for banks to offer mortgage holidays; impossible to double unemployment benefits; impossible to house rough sleepers or put a hold on evictions; impossible to offer wages subsidies and definitely impossible to get Australians to stay home from the beach and the pub. But we did it. In Upturn Tanya Plibersek brings together some of the country's most interesting thinkers who are ready to imagine a better Australia, and to fight for it. It is a compelling vision for a stronger economy, a fairer society and a more environmentally sustainable future. ‘Woman and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons’ by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. As a result of their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women who lead. Almost every year new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts. The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world. The same set of interview questions were put to each leader in frank face-to-face interviews. Their responses were then used to examine each woman’s journey in leadership and whether their lived experiences were in line with or different from what the research would predict. Julia and Ngozi provide a road map of essential knowledge to inspire us all, and an action agenda for change that allows women to take control and combat gender bias. Featuring Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Clinton, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Theresa May, Michelle Bachelet, Joyce Banda, Erna Solberg, Christine Lagarde and more. A Stranger Truth: Lessons in Love, Leadership and Courage from India's Sex Workers by Ashok Alexander. When Ashok Alexander left a high-profile corporate job to head Avahan, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation s programme to stem the growth of the HIV epidemic in India, he was plunged into an India far removed from the comfort zones he had lived and worked in all his life. It was a grinding place where women sold themselves for fifty rupees and fourteen-year-olds injected drugs. It was the shadow world of transgenders and of young gay men in a country that still criminalized same-sex love. It was the strange world of truckers, lonely journeymen along forgotten highways. Above all, it was a place where valiant battles for a barely decent life were being fought every day. During the ten years Alexander built Avahan, it grew to become one of the largest and most successful HIV prevention programmes in the world, credited with averting over 6.5 lakh new infections. Based on his experiences, A Stranger Truth compellingly brings alive the world of people most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS, and some of the unlikely heroes among them. 1 January 2021 8
‘The Tyranny of Merit: What's become of the Common Good?’ by Michael Sandel. These are dangerous times for democracy. We live in an age of winners and losers, where the odds are stacked in favour of the already fortunate. Stalled social mobility and entrenched inequality give the lie to the promise that "you can make it if you try". And the consequence is a brew of anger and frustration that has fuelled populist protest, with the triumph of Brexit and election of Donald Trump. Michael J. Sandel argues that to overcome the polarized politics of our time, we must rethink the attitudes toward success and failure that have accompanied globalisation and rising inequality. Sandel highlights the hubris a meritocracy generates among the winners and the harsh judgement it imposes on those left behind. He offers an alternative way of thinking about success - more attentive to the role of luck in human affairs, more conducive to an ethic of humility, and more hospitable to a politics of the common good. ‘Greed is Dead: Politics after Individualism’ by Paul Collier and John Kay. The idea that people are basically driven by individualism and economic incentives, and that prosperity and good societies come from top-down leadership, has dominated politics for the last thirty years. This book shows that the age of homo economicus and centralisation is coming to an end. Instead, Collier and Kay argue that community and mutuality will be the drivers of successful societies in the future - as they are already in some parts of the world. They show how politics can reverse the move to extremes of right and left in recent years, that the centre can hold, and that if we think differently we can find common ground to the benefit of all. ‘Another Now: Dispatches from an Alternative Present’ by Yanis Varoufakis. What would a fair and equal society look like? The world-renowned economist and bestselling author Yanis Varoufakis presents his radical and subversive answer. Imagine it is 2025. Years earlier, in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, a global hi-tech uprising has birthed a post-capitalist world in which work, money, land, digital networks and politics have been truly democratised. In a thought-experiment of startling originality, world-famous economist Yanis Varoufakis offers a glimpse of this alternative reality. Through the eyes of three characters - a libertarian ex-banker, a Marxist-feminist and a maverick technologist - we see the genesis of a world without commercial banks or stock markets, where companies are owned equally by all staff, basic income is guaranteed, global imbalances and climate change cancel each other out, and housing is socialised. The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket by Benjamin Lorr. In the tradition of Fast Food Nation and The Omnivore's Dilemma, an extraordinary investigation into the human lives at the heart of the American grocery store. The miracle of the supermarket has never been more apparent. Like the doctors and nurses who care for the sick, suddenly the men and women who stock our shelves and operate our warehouses are understood as 'essential' workers, providing a quality of life we all too easily take for granted. But the sad truth is that the grocery industry has been failing these workers for decades. In this page-turning expose, author Benjamin Lorr pulls back the curtain on the highly secretive grocery industry. Combining deep sourcing, immersive reporting, and sharp, often laugh-out-loud prose, Lorr leads a wild investigation, asking what does it take to run a supermarket? How does our food get on the shelves? And who suffers for our increasing demands for convenience and efficiency? Fiction: ‘The Yield’ by Tara June Winch. The yield in English is the reaping, the things that man can take from the land. In the language of the Wiradjuri yield is the things you give to, the movement, the space between things: baayanha. Profoundly moving and exquisitely written, Tara June Winch’s The Yield is the story of a people and a culture dispossessed. But it is as much a celebration of what was and what endures, and a powerful reclaiming of Indigenous language, storytelling and identity. ‘The Nickel Boys’ by Colsen Whitehead. A follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning bestseller The Underground Railroad, in which he dramatizes another strand of United States history, this time through the story of two boys sentenced to a stretch in a hellish reform school in Jim-Crow-era Florida. Elwood Curtis has taken the words of Dr Martin Luther King to heart: he is as good as anyone. Abandoned by his parents, brought up by his loving, strict and clearsighted grandmother, Elwood is about to enroll in the local black college. But given the time and the place, one innocent mistake is enough to destroy his 1 January 2021 9
future, and so Elwood arrives at The Nickel Academy, which claims to provide 'physical, intellectual and moral training' which will equip its inmates to become 'honorable and honest men'. In reality, the Nickel Academy is a chamber of horrors, where physical, emotional and sexual abuse is rife, where corrupt officials and tradesmen do a brisk trade in supplies intended for the school, and where any boy who resists is likely to disappear 'out back'. Stunned to find himself in this vicious environment, Elwood tries to hold on to Dr King's ringing assertion, 'Throw us in jail, and we will still love you.' But Elwood's fellow inmate and new friend Turner thinks Elwood is naive and worse; the world is crooked, and the only way to survive is to emulate the cruelty and cynicism of their oppressors. The tension between Elwood's idealism and Turner's skepticism leads to a decision which will have decades-long repercussions. Based on the history of a real reform school in Florida that operated for one hundred and eleven years and warped and destroyed the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative by a great American novelist whose work is essential to understanding the current reality of the United States. ‘My Dark Vanessa’ by Kate Elizabeth Russell. “A hard story to read and a harder one to put down...a well-constructed package of dynamite.”—Stephen King Exploring the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher, a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer. Alternating between Vanessa’s present and her past, My Dark Vanessa juxtaposes memory and trauma with the breathless excitement of a teenage girl discovering the power her own body can wield. Thought- provoking and impossible to put down, this is a masterful portrayal of troubled adolescence and its repercussions that raises vital questions about agency, consent, complicity, and victimhood. Written with the haunting intimacy of The Girls and the creeping intensity of Room, My Dark Vanessa is an era-defining novel that brilliantly captures and reflects the shifting cultural mores transforming our relationships and society itself. ‘How Much of These Hills Is Gold’ by C Pam Zhang. An electric debut novel set against the twilight of the American gold rush, two siblings are on the run in an unforgiving landscape-trying not just to survive but to find a home. Ba dies in the night; Ma is already gone. Newly orphaned children of immigrants, Lucy and Sam are suddenly alone in a land that refutes their existence. Fleeing the threats of their western mining town, they set off to bury their father in the only way that will set them free from their past. Along the way, they encounter giant buffalo bones, tiger paw prints, and the specters of a ravaged landscape as well as family secrets, sibling rivalry, and glimpses of a different kind of future. Both epic and intimate, blending Chinese symbolism and re-imagined history with fiercely original language and storytelling, How Much of These Hills Is Gold is a haunting adventure story, an unforgettable sibling story, and the announcement of a stunning new voice in literature. On a broad level, it explores race in an expanding country and the question of where immigrants are allowed to belong. But page by page, it's about the memories that bind and divide families, and the yearning for home. We are keen for you to read as many of these books as possible. And in depth. So, we invite you to write a 1,000-word reflection on one of these books for 20 ROJ points. You might get a group together to discuss the book to sharpen your reflection. And you might want to write a reflection on more than one book. However, to ensure that you enjoy the richness of ROJ offerings under the program, there is a cap on the number of books you can acquire ROJ points for over a period of one year—two books and 40 ROJ points Feel free to write a reflection on our past books including: ‘Saltwater’ by Cathy McLennan, ‘Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland’ by Patrick Radden Keefe, ‘There Are No Children Here’ by Alex Kotlowitz., ‘Too much lip’ by Melissa Lugashenko, ‘Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice’ by Bill Browder, ‘The Testaments’ by Margaret Atwood, ‘Australia Day’ by Melanie Cheng, ‘The Color Purple’ by Alice Walker, ‘East West Street” by Philippe Sands, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood, 'The Tall Man' by Chloe Hooper, 'This Changes Everything' by Naomi Klein, 'Talking To My Country', by Stan Grant, ‘Dark Emu, Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?’ by Bruce Pascoe, The Children Act’ by Ian McEwan, ‘We are All Completely Beside Ourselves’ by Karen Joy Fowler, ‘This House of Grief’ by Helen Garner (here’s a few thought starters), ‘Exit West’ by Mohsin Hamid or ‘Never Let Me Go’ by Kazuo Ishiguro (here’s a few points for discussion). 1 January 2021 10
• The Brennan Justice Photography Competition (10 - 20 points)
This annual creative competition allows you to personally explore themes of justice whilst engaging the
UTS and wider community with these themes and issues. Visit the UTS Law website to find out more
information about this initiative, the competition guidelines and the competition opens for submissions.
• Ad Hoc ROJ Activity (5 points)
Occasionally you may claim for Brennan initiatives or opportunities that do not fit into any of the above
categories. These may be reflections on events or LTS experiences for the Brennan Yearbook, reflections
on social justice issues promoted via the Facebook page, or anything else miscellaneous as approved
ahead of time with the Brennan Administrator.
c. Capping ROJ points
The accumulation of ROJ points can be undertaken and completed at any stage of your studies, however,
you cannot accrue 100 ROJ points in less than 12 months. This is to encourage you to develop you
insights and experiences throughout the progression of your degree.
There is no upper limit on points that may be accrued and you are encouraged to participate in reflective
exercises to the best of your capacity.
d. How to log ROJ activities:
ROJ Activity How to accrue ROJ points Points
An ad-hoc activity is a ROJ activity that does
not fit into any of the below categories. You
can use this section for claiming points
Ad Hoc Activity towards 350-word reflections you've seen on 5 points
the Brennan Facebook page, or other
activities as discussed with the Brennan
Administrator.
Register attendance via CareerHub – once
Internal event you have attended the event and have had
5 points
attendance you name marked off at the event, you will
automatically receive the relevant points.
Register attendance via CareerHub by writing
External event
a 350 reflective post or uploading a ticket or 5 points
attendance
registration form.
Discussion Groups are held in Autumn and
Spring sessions, and call outs for groups are
released at the beginning of the session by
the UTS LSS Brennan Program Director. To
Discussion
claim ROJ points for Discussion Group 20 points
Groups
participation, you must write a minimum of five
submissions of 200 words each in the
‘Discussion Group Claim Form’ Section of
CareerHub.
A minimum of seven different entries of 350
Reflective blog words each uploaded to the ‘Reflective Blog’ 10 points
section in CareerHub.
1 January 2021 11A substantial reflection using media of your
choice (podcast, video, 2-3 minute short film,
10-20 points with prior
poem, essay etc.) about a topic of interest or
Reflection piece approval from Program
even a reflection on an event. Upload this
Administrator
piece to the ‘Substantial Reflective Piece’
section on CareerHub.
Read the prescribed book for that year and
Brennan Book
write a 1000 word reflection in ‘Brennan Book 20 points
Program
Program’ section on CareerHub.
Take a photograph that depicts a clear justice
The Brennan image. The parameters are broad - the photo Winner: 20 points
Justice can capture a staged or genuine image, but it Participants: 10 points
Photography must portray a justice issue that you feel (according to terms and
Competition strongly about. Instructions about how to enter conditions)
are given at the time of the competition.
e. Launch of Vieple – Share your thoughts via video
That’s right! Using our cool new video interviewing software, Vieple, you can now visually submit your ROJ
reflection via Vieple. Vieple is integrated into UTSCareerHub.
You can film your reflection in front of the camera, from anywhere in the world, on your mobile or laptop.
Just make sure you have good internet connection, are in a quiet place, and when creating your account,
sign up with your UTS student email.
For tips on how to use Vieple, check out their website FAQs. You can also get in touch with us if you have
any specific questions. You’ll soon receive a video from UTS opting into Vieple use.
1 January 2021 125. Leadership through Service (LTS)
a. General requirements and rationale
The LTS component of the Brennan Program calls for students to engage in voluntary activities in a range
of legal and non-legal settings that involves service to others and also indicates the assumption of some
leadership role. For example, you might develop a fundraising initiative, lead an awareness raising
campaign, take on higher organisational responsibility, or advocate for the needs of your host organisation.
To be eligible for the Brennan Justice and Leadership Award, you must complete the required number of
hours pertaining to the duration of your studies at UTS as set out below:
Degree length LTS hours required
5 year Degree 200 hours
4 year Degree 160 hours
3 year Degree 120 hours
Minimum 120 hours
When registering your participation in the Program via CareerHub, you will be required to confirm your
degree length and the system will allocate the required LTS hours to your profile.
You may wish to undertake service work together with fellow students. This is something that the
Program encourages.
b. What qualifies as LTS?
To qualify for the Award, the service must be:
● voluntary, that is, is unremunerated except for reimbursement of costs such as travel expenses,
● with a not-for-profit organisation or project. (You should contact the Program Administrator for
guidance and, in appropriate cases, exemption from the non-profit requirement.)
It must not:
● attract academic credit or count towards any professional qualification such as under the
professional experience requirement for admission as a legal practitioner.
Examples of LTS placements include:
• Work in agencies that have a service provision function or ethic of care, advocacy and social
concern (for example, providing services for homeless people, working with Indigenous
organisations, as a teacher of English literacy to child refugees, and advocacy and advice for
disadvantaged groups)
• Volunteering as an intern or research assistant at a Faculty Centre (Anti-Slavery Australia, or the
Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII))
• Volunteering or interning with legal clinics, community legal centres and other agencies that have
a justice, public interest or service dimension to their work (e.g.Refugee Advice and Casework
Service RACS)
• Exercising leadership in student and university activities, for example, as an executive member of
a UTS student club or society or a peer networker with the UTS Student Services Unit
• Community service that involves the exercise of initiative and the development of leadership
capacity, such as a facilitator / organiser of a community sports program
1 January 2021 13• Law students participating in the Beyond UTS International Leadership Development (BUiLD),
the UTS: SOUL Award or the UTS Accomplish Award Programs can receive dual recognition for
some activities.
Activities that are not within the LTS placement criteria include:
• Volunteering as a research assistant with a private law firm
• Working without pay in a business which operates for profit
• Being paid by your employer to complete community service work
• Unpaid marketing work which has a profit motive
Neither list is exhaustive of the full range of inclusions or exclusions.
c. Tiering and capping LTS hours
The Program encourages sustained, accumulating volunteer experience across law studies, instilling an
enduring ethic of service. This has two implications.
• Students are expected to accrue service across more than 12 months; no more than three-
quarters (75%) of service hours that are accrued under the Program may be performed in less
than 12 months.
• Students are encouraged to seek volunteer positions in a broad range of services, however you
may claim all of your LTS for work undertaken within one organisation if you wish.
• Volunteer experience doesn’t need to be in a service that has a legal function for it to be credited
under the Program. In this way the Program seeks to encourage leadership and initiative across
the legal, social and community sectors.
d. Choosing a service activity and pre-approval
Students are encouraged to seek out service opportunities that reflect their own interests, commitments
and community attachments. The experience of searching for opportunities to contribute is usually a
valuable education in itself and develops initiative and resourcefulness as well as valuable contacts.
However, to ensure that any proposed activity is within the Program criteria, students should contact the
Program Administrator at brennanprogram@uts.edu.au for confirmation that it fits within the criteria of the
Program.
To help you find a placement, a letter of introduction is available explaining the Brennan Program to
prospective placement organisations and why students might offer their volunteer services. Email
brennanprogram@uts.edu.au to request a copy.
The Brennan Program regularly advertises positions available via the Newsletter, Canvas noticeboard, and
Facebook.
1 January 2021 14e. How to log LTS hours under the Program
All LTS hours must be submitted via CareerHub under the ‘Leadership through Service (LTS)
Hours’ section. Before filling out this section, you and your supervisor must complete and sign
the Confirmation of Service Form. You will be required to upload this claim form as evidence of your
service.
The Program Administrator keeps a central database of service hours, however, we also advise
that you keep copies of all approved forms.
f. Not sure how to claim in CareerHub?
This video explains how to lodge ROJ and LTS hours in CareerHub.
Members of the Brennan Program not familiar with CareerHub claiming should watch the video and get in
touch with our team for further advice.
1 January 2021 156. Australian Red Cross Lifeblood It's an exciting new initiative from the Brennan Program, in collaboration with the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood. All you need to do is give blood and then upload a selfie of yourself doing so to CareerHub. And, if eligible, you can do so every 12 weeks! People of all walks of life need blood products. Some need it to get them through a serious event in their lives, like cancer or a difficult pregnancy. Others have medical conditions which mean they need blood products regularly to stay alive or be healthy. Follow the links below to learn more. Check your eligibility and then call 13 14 95 or make an appointment online. Make sure you book online under or mention the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) UTS Law Students Society Team when you donate to count towards UTS’s point total. Head to the UTS Leadership through Service webpage to receive the full information, check eligibility and donate! 1 visit and blood donation = 3 LTS hours per visit! 1 January 2021 16
7. Gaining dual recognition for
volunteer and community service
Be smart with your extracurricular activities. Involved with the UTS BUILD Program, UTS SOUL Award or
UTS Accomplish Award? Receive dual recognition for your LTS relevant* volunteer and community service
hours and you may be eligible to take out multiple Awards prior to graduation.
Here’s an example:
Sam signed up to the Brennan Program and the UTS SOUL Award last year and for the past 6 months has
steadily been volunteering and accruing hours with RACS. Sam wishes to claim his hours every 12 months
(just in case his supervisor changes). Sam claims for his community leader role and involvement in the
Law Student Society separately.
At the 12 month mark, Sam gets his 73 hours approved by his RACS supervisor and uploads it via
CareerHub via the appropriate SOUL volunteer experience form process. Here's how to claim via
CareerHub.
As part of the Brennan Program, Sam had his RACS supervisor sign this LTS approval form.
Sam can claim these hours and receive dual recognition via his respective SOUL Award and Brennan
Program dashboards in CareerHub. Just look for the relevant form.
When claiming for dual recognition within the Brennan Program, SOUL and BUILD Programs, keep in
mind it is only the volunteer work you undertake in your local or international community that you can claim
for LTS hours.
Unless specifically promoted or approved by the Brennan Program, you cannot claim ROJ points for
attending seminars and preparation events towards the SOUL Award and BUILD programs, by uploading
your ticket to the Brennan Program CareerHub workflow. However if you feel compelled, or are passionate
about a certain topic, you can reflect on this event/seminar in 350 words and upload this to the ROJ
section for 5 ROJ points.
Need further clarification on your situation? Get in touch.
1 January 2021 17You can also read
