A CHAT WITH...

ALICE MANDER

At just 1, Alice ander is fast becoming a prominent voice for change. he was 1 when she was diagnosed with imb irdle uscular ystrophy, which causes her muscles to weaken and waste over time. And now, in her fourth year of law and arts at Wellington’s Victoria University, she has been nominated as a finalist in the Impact Award category at this year’s Attitude Awards, which celebrate the achievements of iwis in the disability sector. ander founded the ational isabled tudents’ Association A , of which she is president, earlier this year, to represent and advocate for students around Aotearoa, communicating on their behalf with government, disabled persons’ organisations and tertiary institutions, to ensure a more inclusive and accessible learning environment.

Bridget Jones spoke to her to find out what makes her tick.

What sparked the movement behind the NDSA?

All the students involved are disabled themselves, and we’d all faced so many barriers, but it felt like it was just our own, personal issue. Talking to other people, it was clear these issues are being faced by so many students across campuses. or me personally, in with the first Covid lockdown, a lot of tertiary providers weren’t prepared for the online learning switch, and there was a lot of labour that disabled students were putting in to make sure our voices were heard, and that online learning was done equitably. That got some students at Victoria University thinking. ome universities don’t have disabled student groups, how are their voices being elevated And what is the government doing to ensure disabled students have our needs met ecause so many of those needs in the tertiary space aren’t being met campuses are still inaccessible, some lecturers still aren’t disability aware. It made us realise that if no one else is going to think about this, then we need to start getting that national voice out there.

Are you frustrated it’s fallen to you and your team to try to fix the situation? It’s

very frustrating. That was one thing that frustrated a lot of students during the first lockdown, that as disabled students, we’d been asking for online learning or even more flexibility around how and when we learn since the technology was available, and we were told it wasn’t possible, or it would be not academically authentic

there were a range of excuses. And then when it affected everyone, the switch online was instantaneous. The onus is definitely on individual disabled students to fight against their providers to get their needs met. It’s so difficult when you are already studying full time, or trying to work as well, and on top of that, you’re trying to fight to get your rights met. We hear that from students a lot, that they are so tired from the

self advocacy that’s required. And that’s where we are trying to step in, so those students can just be a student, and study and work hard and not have that extra thing to do.

How many students are impacted by the things you are fighting for?

The data on disabled people generally is so poor, let alone disabled students we are an invisible group. Every institution quantifies it very differently, but we operate off the assumption that, just like the general population, it’s one in four students. We also operate under a really broad definition of disability, which includes mental health and chronic illness, so we think it’s even greater than that number that the education system is failing. It’s hard to quantify, and it’s hard to advocate when you don’t have the numbers.

What sort of reception have you had from those in power?

There is definitely a move to want to put the learner at the centre, and a move to seeing the worth of student’s voices, and ensuring they have a say, or co design what their institution is doing. Attitudes are changing, which is good. It’s just whether those attitudes translate into action.

You’ve spoken about the invisibility of your muscular dystrophy. Can you explain what you mean?

It’s progressive, which means it deteriorates or progresses, so in terms of my identity, it’s been really interesting. When I was younger, it was invisible, and it’s getting more visible now. There’s a constant need to re evaluate how I see myself, which has been really tough at times. A lot of what we see of disability is either quite a stable condition from birth, or an accident. That progressive notion, and how that impacts on your sense of identity and the struggles that can come along with that, is less talked about. I’m not sure how it will affect me in the future, but I’ve come to a space where I’m proud of being a disabled person, whatever way that looks.

When did you realise you could help other people and make a change?

rowing up with a disability, and coming into that identity, was tough because I didn’t have anyone to look up to in my immediate circle. They were obviously out there, because it is a large population group, but we have been so invisible in the media, in government spaces and in the private sector. ecause I have such a privileged background, and such ama ing educational opportunities, I want to ensure disabled young people don’t have that experience, and that they can see people speaking up proudly about these things, saying, yeah I am disabled, and it’s society and the system’s job to ensure my needsaremet .Thatistheroleofcommunity. When I was about 18, I realised it wasn’t my problem that I couldn’t access a lecture theatre and that realisation is so empowering as a young person, realising that it’s not something inherently wrong with you, it’s something inherently wrong with the system. I want to bring that realisation to the forefront for a much broader group.

How will you know when your job is done?

I don’t think it will ever really be done. ut when disabled students are in the conversation, always, and only by centering disabled students are we going to achieve equity. The ultimate aim is an education system where there are no barriers to success other than doing your absolute best. ou should be able to achieve and have the support to achieve so everyone is on an even playing field from the very beginning.

The ultimate aim is an education system where there are no barriers to success other than doing your absolute best. You should be able to achieve – and have the support to achieve. . .

How far away is that goal?

We’ve had some really great wins in the past few years, thanks to ama ing student leaders before us. or example, this year a new pastoral care code was developed, which means all tertiary providers have an obligation to ensure their students’ wellbeing physical, emotional, cultural safety

is all met, and that’s huge. ut it’s not just about what happens in that tertiary institution. It’s a really holistic approach and it includes the things happening at home, in flats, the financial situation, mental health a lot of things. ut we can get there.

watch The Attitude Awards will be held virtually on December 10, and screen at 4pm on TVNZ 1, December 18.

It’s a safe bet that Covid will change the way we do Christmas this year. The pandemic will see us forgo traditions, perhaps creating new ones, and have us arranging things a little differently. “Different” is the category vegetarians find themselves in at many a Christmas celebration, although it’s perhaps the ham and turkey fanatics who are divergent when you consider that we were originally hunters and gatherers, eating meatinfre uently,asitwascaught.Meat-centric meals came recently around 12,000 years ago when agricultural practices introduced farming and a consistent supply. ut with one in 10 ew

ealanders now eating mostly or completely meatfree meals, we may be heading back to the future.

Live and let live

inn Taylor, 31, muses that it is others who categorise him, not him judging the meat eaters. “My parents became vegetarian in their late 20s, andIhavenevereatenmeat,e ceptbyaccident. I haven’t really uestioned it it’s one of the best things you can do for climate action and science backs that up.

“hen I say I am vegetarian people think I am going to rant, telling them how to live their life, but I am very much of the live and let live mentality. It’s them making a big deal out of it. If am sharing a meal, people often buy things I have never tried before, like nut meat in a can I had no idea what it was! They’re keen to cater for me but it gets a bit weird, lots of hoopla, ‘this is inn’s special food don’t touch.’”

Taylor says dinner conversation often revolves around his diet choice, with people trying to convince him to eat a piece of meat. “I see the funny side, it’s a human nature thing, when they are presented with a different point of view, but I don’t understand the obsession.”

Christmas for the Taylor family hasn’t changed too much over the years. “e eat dairy, although I limit it because of the nature of dairying, so there’s usually a cheeseboard for nibbles, lots of roast veges with feta, a bean dish maybe chilli beans with rice, and a nice salad. My mum makes peanut butter rolls, which are like sausage rolls with a peanut butter, cottage cheese and celery filling. If someone has a new dish that they like, we’ll add that in and if friends or partners eat meat, or someone comes along with a meat dish, we have no problem with that.”

Things have changed

omen led the way with vegetarianism in ophia Elise’s family, with her vegetarian grandmother and great aunt both raising their children vege. Elise, her sisters and cousins are third generation vegetarians who are raising a fourth generation.

ike Taylor, vegetarianism is no big deal for Elise’s 22-year-old son who, at years old when his parents separated, stayed vegetarian when at his father’s meat-eating household.

“It was all about the animals, it’s in his nature,” says Elise. “ut it was always a choice, just as it was for me. There has always been open and honest communication. o pressure or coercion, just e planationsonhowpeopleseeitfromanethical and environmental point of view.”

Vegetarian kids today don’t suffer the same marginalisation as Elise’s generation. “Growing up in the 0s we were certainly the unicorns, there were very few vegetarians around, now it’s more mainstream. More people are coming into it as environmentalists and through the vegan and plantbasedmovements,thingshavee ploded. eopleare really into it and what we can get on supermarket shelves compared to just 10 years ago, blows my mind,” says Elise, who also remarks on how easy it is to eat out. “I’d dread going to a restaurant 10 years ago, where all I could eat was a side salad and fries whoop de do! ow menus are labelled with gluten free, dairy free and plant-based meals, some even have separate plant-based menus.”

Elise likes to cook from scratch at home, but happily pulls one of the “new processed products” out of the freezer when she’s “feeling a bit lazy.” “They’ve certainly made barbecues a lot easier

my now vegetarian partner who grew up in a meat-eating culture in outh Africa, loves the

eyond Meat products and they add interest to the Christmas barbecue for sure.”

The cheese platter also features at Elise’s Christmas, but she’s allergic to dairy, so the cheese is plant-based. “You can find a plant-based alternative to any dairy product now, wonderful cream cheese that tastes the same as dairy and there’s a huge number of ice creams those vegan Magnums and Trumpets taste like the real deal! Chocolate mousse and meringues are made witha uafabaandthere is a range of dairy-free chocolate, so there are plenty of treats.” “Christmas dinner used to be roast potatoes and cauliflower with cheese sauce, now everyone is rocking up with imaginative dishes from all sorts ofethnicities Thai,Me icanandIndian sucha wonderful range of flavours that lend themselves to vegetarian food. And the internet has helped, meateating friends are now happily turning up with a dish for a vegetarian meal because they typed something into Google and came up with a recipe.”

Elise’s mum also made vegetarian sausage rolls and a nut-type roast that she called “company roast”. “Mum also made cheesecake and jelly with agar agar, and these things stood out because they were special at that time of the year, and they weren’tvegetables whatchildgetse citedabout vegetables?!”

There are other family traditions her grandmother’s devilled eggs and asparagus rolls, but Elise likes that Christmas dinner is now more diverse. “Everyone brings something, and you never know what you are going to get. eople shouldn’t be afraid of having vegetarian or vegan friends around for a meal it’s a chance to broaden your cooking horizons, and if you’re not a great cook you can pick something up at the supermarket. There’s plenty of help and advice out there.”

Advice can be found at the Vegetarian ociety, which Elise’s family have been heavily involved in for many years ister ulia is the current president. Their trademark programme makes it easy for shoppers to identify vegetarian and vegan products produced in ew ealand, and the vegetarian.org.nzwebsitehasane tensivesetof recipes and resources.

It’s how you eat

utting a foodie’s spin on a vege Christmas is Aaron runet you know the name because he won MasterChef New Zealand in 2013. After growing up vegetarian, eating meat from his mid-teens and uitting again in his 0s, runet applies the same

When I say I am vegetarian people think I am going to rant, telling them how to live their life, but I am very much of the live and let live mentality. – Finn Taylor

principle to any meal which is, “it’s not what you eat, it’s how you eat it.”

e says hristmas is about traditions that move with the times and relate to the people you are sharing that meal with. “y family have a favourite soup that my grandmother used to make out of beans, cabbage and potatoes – which they would grow and store for the winter where she lived in Northern Italy. It is part of our hristmas because making it has become a ritual – a tradition. eople do this with things such as turkey, which they don’t normally eat, but like the tradition of it at hristmas. You can create new traditions, and you can do this with vegetarian hristmas food, by focusing on the bits that matter, which is the love of the food – bringing our care and attention to whatever we choose to eat – that’s what makes it special.”

hen people go vegetarian, it can be “hurtful” for family members, he says. ut “by acknowledging the love that has gone into that roast lamb, or whatever was traditionally cooked, while choosing to eat something else means you’re not making their food wrong and doesn’t cause separation or disconnect...

e need to be able to have conversations and agree to disagree. hen you talk about positives, such as the prime performance of vegan athletes, rather than shaming people about the harm that agriculture causes, it is more effective.”

runet prefers to describe his plant based diet as being “plant rich” becauseittakesthean iety and fear out of what is effectively a vegan diet. “I don’t stress if the only thing I can eat on the run is a ‘normal’ muffin or if dairy milk is the only option and I have a splash of it in my tea. Vegan is a very polarising word whereas the term plant rich seems positive – I am choosing plants in a positive way.”

is personal choice is not to eat animals, but runet understands the role they play in the growing of uality produce. is future ideal is community supported agriculture, where local farms grow for local families and these permaculture farms wouldn’t work without animals.

“It’s about soil health and that’s not sticking

, cows in a paddock and feeding them corn, it’s a small number of animals that provide different services. I love the idea that soil is like the gut lining of the planet – having a healthy, biological mi in the soil is like having a healthy gut.”

This is generational change, getting back to where we were odd years ago, so it won’t happen overnight and trying to do this on scale for a growing population is a massive challenge – one that arlos

agrie and Nadia im are having a crack at on their ʤueenstown farm, Royalburn Station.

There is a MasterChef connection here – like runet, im is a MasterChef New Zealand winner, and lise was thrilled by how much the latest

ustralian series supported plant based eating. ur talented cooks, chefs and food lovers are ringing the changes in an inclusive way that is beneficial to everyone and the planet. New Zealand even has a vegan deli – lip rater and Youssef Iskrane’s rater

oods in hristchurch – where the gourmet vegan meats,cheesesandp t sarerevolutionary.

runet uit meat again because he wanted to show his daughter, who at was very down about environmental issues , that he was thinking about her future. hoosing to not eat animal products, he says, was something he could do straight away to make the biggest difference. The NZ Vegetarian Society have seen a dramatic increase in the number of young people coming to veganism because they want to help the environment. lder people tend to convert for health reasons.

runet says an all plant food diet is best for him physically and mentally, but says if you look at the data without being emotive, it shows that people who also eat a little bit of meat less than per cent of theirdiet are ustashealthy.“Iknowmanypeople who are mostly plant based but will eat meat if it is wild, or if they catch a fish. To me that’s different to being part of the industrial agriculture system and those wild animals eat decent food so it’s more nutritious. eople may need meat in their diet, we all process things differently – some can’t tolerate wheat, others lactose. In my plant rich cooking workshopsIencouragepeopletoe perimenton themselves and be honest about what works. lood tests help you to know what your iron, vitamin and levels are doing. They may be in your diet, but your body may not be absorbing them properly.”

uriosity is a word he likes to use. “If you are unsure about anything, curiosity is the way to step forward.”

alf of the people in runet’s workshops are mothers wanting to make new food for their child who has gone vegan. “These mums still want to show love and make them food. ood and love are kind of the same thing, but we must distinguish between them. You can have different food and still keep the love.” hich brings us back to runet’s earlier words, and to hristmas.

hristmas is a good opportunity to practice inclusion while holding true to our personal choices.

at and be merry, no matter what’s on your plate and who you are sharing it with. In runet’s words, “bring your appreciation, gratitude and pleasure to food rather than having food do all the heavy lifting.”

People shouldn’t be afraid of having vegetarian or vegan friends around for a meal – it’s a chance to broaden your cooking horizons. – Sophia Elise

Vegan is a very polarising word whereas the term plant-rich seems positive – I am choosing plants in a positive way. – Aaron Brunet