Acknowledgement of Country
Honi Soit is produced, published and distributed on the stolen land of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. Sovereignty was never ceded. For over 235 years, First Nations peoples in so-called ‘Australia’ have continued to suffer under the destructive effects of invasion, genocide, and colonisation. As editors of this paper, we acknowledge that we are each living, writing, and working on stolen Gadigal, Wangal and Bidjigal land, and are beneficiaries of ongoing colonial dispossession.
We acknowledge that the University of Sydney is an inherently colonial institution which is not only physically built on stolen land, but also ideologically upholds a devaluing of Indigenous systems of knowledge and systematically excludes First Nations peoples. We recognise our complicity in such systems. We strive to remain conscious of, and actively resist and unlearn, colonial ideologies and biases, both our own and those perpetuated by the University and other institutions like it.
As a student newspaper, we pledge to stand in solidarity with both First Nations movements and all Indigenous struggles toward decolonisation worldwide, endeavouring to platform Indigenous voices. Honi is committed to countering the exclusion, censoring, and silencing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in mainstream media.
Always was, and always will be Aboriginal land.
Editors
Huw Bradshaw
Valerie Chidiac
Aidan Elwig Pollock
Victoria Gillespie
Ariana Haghighi
Sandra Kallarakkal
Zeina Khochaiche
Simone Maddison
Angus McGregor
Amelia Raines
Contributors
Michelle Agnelli
Thuận Ánh
Matilda Cheshire
Alex Dent
Eleanor Douglas
Jesper Duffy
Felicity Errington
Rachel Halliday Izzy Gee
Alexander Glase
Kuyili Karthik
Ting Jen Kuo
Sandy Ou
Ellie Robertson Will Thorpe
Crossword
Michael Smith
Cover Art
Back Cover Ads. Boring!
Contact Us !
Email: editors@honisoit.com
Instagram: @honi_soit
Facebook: Honi Soit
Editorial
Zeina Khochaiche
Hey you,
Let me introduce you to Honi Soit’s week 10 issue, the Jukebox edition.
Initially, I chose the theme of ‘jukebox’ because I was listening to Skyhooks’ ‘Jukebox in Siberia’ after a late night in the Honi office working on the Week 7 Election edition. It felt effortless to metaphorise this theme — the jukebox is a historic symbol of nostalgia, the youth’s rebellion against order and hierarchy, and of course, curated playlists. It is an artefact that energises upheaval and in fact encourages it. The history of the jukebox compliments our posit of counter-culturalism so well that it almost writes itself.
To me, Honi Soit and student media at large has always been like the jukebox. You can pick us up, peruse what we have on offer and make it your own, even contribute yourself — much like pressing the playback button. Not only this, the jukebox is a time capsule where unadulterated expression and liberation is called for even in the face of suffering and pushback.
Pick us up and prod at us. In this edition you can immerse yourself in recounts of the Student Journalism Conference, curate your own playlist but not before understanding Spotify and their algorithms, go on a foray through the Chau Chak Wing Museum or queue the Regurgitator, The Monkees and the Chinese Deejay scene.
In an age where suffering and devastation is rampant in places like Palestine and my Dad’s homeland, Lebanon, please don’t let the symbols of rebellion and resistance that you find in the jukebox fade. So when you leave these pages I hope you feel that itch to make that playlist, attend that protest or write those stories just because you can.
Since you’re already here I have some quick thank you’s to deliver. Thank you to my parents for raising me on the best tracks, thank you to my best friend Eve for making my cover and taking my numerous revisions in stride, thank you to Victoria, Holly, Conrad and Claudia for featuring in the cover, and thank you to Flirt and Honi Soit for always dancing to your own tune.
Yours, Zeina
Statement on Genocide in Gaza Police apply to ban Palestine rally Police withdraw application NTEU passes BDS Motion
Simple Extension OUTRAGE Abortion rights on campus
StuJo: Past, present, future 12 StuJo Reviews
Jukebox, Indian Canon Playlists
Suzanne Latest at the CCWM: Any good?
Monkees and Regurgitator DJ’s in the PRC What’s the deal with groupchats?
ISSN: 2207-5593. This edition was published on Wednesday 9 October 2024. Disclaimer: Honi Soit is published by the Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney, Level 1 Wentworth Building, City Road, University of Sydney NSW 2006. The SRC’s operation costs, space and administrative support are financed by the University of Sydney. Honi Soit is printed under the auspices of the SRC’s Directors of Student Publications (DSP): Dustin Dao, Jasmine Donnelly, Lia Perkins, Tiger Perkins, Victor Zhang, Lucinda Zheng. All expressions are published on the basis that they are not to be regarded as the opinions of the SRC unless specifically stated. The Council accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions or information contained within this newspaper, nor does it endorse any of the advertisements and insertions.
Eve Krombas
Cartoon Caption Contest
Cartoon: Huw Bradshaw
Submit your best caption for the above to editors@honisoit. com for a chance to WIN and be published in the next edition! Winners receive a personalised limerick from Angus McGregor.
Cartoon: Aidan Elwig Pollock
Winner’s caption:
“What do you mean you have sex states?” — Remi
Winner’s reward:
There once was a Kiwi so bold, Whose vowels were a sight to behold, He’d say “fush” instead of “fish,” And “chups” on his dish, In New Zealand, that’s just how they roll’d!
What’s on?
Wednesday 9
Speakout for Lebanon: End Israeli Aggression @ 1pm UTS Alumni Green Rally & Demonstration Protesting One Year of WSU’s Complicity in Genocide @ 11am Parramatta South Campus
Thursday 10
Consent & Transformative Justice workshop @ 1:30pm, Location TBD, see FB event Craftivism: Resistance Through Art Workshorkshop @ 5pm, Women’s Room Manning
Friday 11
Documentary Screening & Talk: The Intersections of sex, feminism, and anti-Zionism @ 11am, Location TBD, FB Event.
Teach in at the Tamil Refugee Encampment in Punchbowl: Women Freedom Fighters in Tamil Eelam @ 3pm 29/1 Broadway, Punchbowl
Saturday 12
Charli XCX Brat Party @ 10pm Imperial Hotel Erskineville
Sunday 13
Weekly Rally for Palestine @ 1pm Hyde Park — See Palestine Action Group instagram for further details
Tuesday 15
October Open Stage @ 7pm Sappho Books Cafe & Wine Bar
Send us in a letter: editors@honisoit.com
An Open Letter from the Sydney University Labor Club on USU Incorporation
The University of Sydney Union (USU) has operated as a democratic, student-run organisation since the 19th century. While our club chooses to focus on advancing progressive politics within the Labor Party and strategically abstains from student union politics, we strongly oppose any potential incorporation process that would undermine the USU’s status as an independent organisation governed by students.
For more than a century the USU has invested in real estate, accumulated a multimillion dollar art collection, employed thousands of staff, and more. The limitations of unincorporated associations are often exaggerated, as many of Australia’s largest landholders and organisations operate as unincorporated associations. Entities such as the Catholic Church and organisations like the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party, which operate within complex regulatory regimes, are unincorporated. Incorporation will not substantially improve the capacity of the USU to enter into major commercial transactions, which it already does and has for its entire history by nominating individuals to act on its behalf who is presumably fully indemnified by the USU for any losses sustained as a consequence of the transaction. There are also concerns in the short term with regard to significant legal fees involved in the USU transferring assets to newly incorporated legal entities, which carries potential tax implications in the asset transfers. While we do not fundamentally object to incorporation, our primary concern is that incorporation is being used as a stalking horse to impose university control over the USU.
This society is of the strong view that the USU must retain a student board. The assets accumulated from 1874 are the result of the contributions of students over the centuries. Without student control of the USU through a democratically-elected student board, the capacity of students to direct those assets to the benefit of students will be lost. Universities where students lose control of student unions have seen those unions reduced to catering and entertainment appendages of the university in essence. It is the view of this society that a student board, with total control of the management of the USU, is an absolute non-negotiable.
To summarise, this society’s position regardless of what is to occur, is that there needs to be total focus to retain the USU’s independence from the University of Sydney and the commercial operations as well as the management of the USU must remain in student hands. The management of the USU must remain under the direction of a democratically-elected student board. The student members of the USU must also retain the power to direct the board and to change the USU’s rules. Although the USU Board’s commitment that student representation will not be reduced is greatly appreciated, this society will continue to observe further details of the incorporation plan play out with interest.
Signed, — Sydney University Labor Club Executive
Shakesphere or there? WHERE?
Dear Honi,
I was looking for a tutorial classroom on the internet recently when I stumbled across an old photo of the niche in the main corridor of John Woolley dating from 2015. There is a bust of Shakespeare in the niche - does anyone, either at Honi or the English Department, know where the Bard’s alabaster head has gone?
It seems odd. It’s not like a bust of Shakespeare is going to up and walk away, is it.
— Lachlan Griffiths (Arts 2)
Drug Alert
NSW Health released a statement earlier this week warning of high-dose MDMA tablets in circulation around the state.
The tablets are a purple shield-shape and are known to contain a higher dose of MDMA than expected.
Remember to test your drugs and keep your friends safe!
Honi Soit’s statement on one year of the genocide in Gaza
It has been one year since Israel launched its latest phase of the genocide on Palestinians. The entire world knew this date was fast approaching, and yet the genocide is still ongoing. Indiscriminate attacks on civilians are now devastating the region at large. Whilst many have watched this devastation unfold online, safe and detached, entire families have been wiped out, with schools and hospitals reduced to rubble.
Honi Soit unequivocally condemns the rhetoric that distorts and diminishes the suffering of Palestinians. We also note that the genocide against Palestinians began in 1948 with the Nakba (Catastrophe). The current genocide cannot be viewed in isolation.
An Open Letter From American Medical Professionals Who Served In Gaza on October 2 2024 stated that “it is likely that the death toll from this conflict is already greater than 118,908”. This not only corroborates claims made by the medical journal the Lancet back in July, but indicates that we may be underestimating the level of human and material destruction as it remains difficult to recover bodies and report all deaths.
The Hamas attacks occurred on October 7 2023 and Israel’s disproportionate response of collective punishment began soon after. What many still hesitate to label as a genocide, was raised to new heights in Israel’s relentless bombing of the Gaza strip which did not differentiate between civilian and militant.
On October 7, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to “operate forcefully everywhere” in Gaza. The genocidal intent of Israel was made abundantly clear on October 16 when Netanyahu told the Knesset that this is “a struggle between the children of light and the children of darkness, between humanity and the law of the jungle.”
On October 9, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel was “imposing a complete siege on Gaza. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel…We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly…. Gaza won’t return to what it was before. We will eliminate everything…It will take weeks or even months, we will reach all places.”
On October 12, President Isaac Herzog said the following of the Palestinian people: “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible. It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true. … and we will fight until we break their backbone.”
One year on, we have extensive documentation of the ongoing genocide. South Africa collected statements made by Israeli officials to build their case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Moreover, for the first time in history, we have first-hand accounts of the destruction and violence streamed live by journalists and civilians on the ground.
As confirmed by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Israel is now responsible for the “record journalist death toll”. Journalists play an essential role in holding power to account. When reporting from war zones, journalists are afforded protection under international law. Yet amidst the devastation in Gaza, journalists continue to be targeted for doing their jobs.
In Australia, discourse has diverted into whether the October 6 and 7 Palestine protests are celebrating the October 7 attacks.
Why is it that the condemnation of Palestinian death has to be preceded by the question: “do you condemn the deaths of Israeli civilians?”
Not only is this dismissive of Palestinian suffering, but makes it seem as though Palestinian deaths only matter in relation to Israeli deaths: that Israeli deaths must be mourned before Palestinian deaths are even considered.
When Netanyahu attends the United Nations and delivers a speech saying, “…Israel seeks peace… yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again. Yet we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against them”, what he really means is “de-escalation through escalation.”
When Netanyahu says, “These savage murderers, our enemies, seek not only to destroy us, but they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror,” Israel’s genocidal intent is clear.
Killing Palestinians while claiming to fight Hamas, killing as many Lebanese as possible while claiming to destroy Hezbollah: this is Israel’s “peace.” Unfurling Zionist plans for a ‘Greater Israel’ before the UN? This is Israel’s “peace.” Dehumanising an entire population with relentless political dogma? This is Israel’s “peace.”
When Netanyahu says, “We don’t seek to resettle Gaza. What we seek is a demilitarised and de-radicalised Gaza”, he is well aware of his statement’s insinuations. He is well aware this will not happen as long as there is an occupation and siege imposed on Palestinians.
When Netanyahu says, “we will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home too,” he is all too aware that it has been a year and not all the hostages have been brought home.
Palestinians have heard the protracted silence from the ‘international community’, and know that their pleas for salvation are falling on deaf ears. Do we need to mark 100 years of the Nakba for it to sink in that Palestinians deserve a homeland, a life of dignity, and an existence free from dehumanisation?
Will we continue to mark 12 months, 18 months, 24 months since October 7? For how long can this be sustained? How can Palestinians keep living as if they are non-human beings?
And now, threats of “Beirut and southern Lebanon [being] turn[ed] into… Gaza” made by Israeli officials are currently unfolding.
Words are not enough and will never be.
Until Palestinian liberation, we must continue to record the atrocities and war crimes committed in the hope that when we and future generations look back and commemorate however many years of the genocide, they know that the world stood by, watching.
From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Hands off Lebanon , hands off Gaza .
NSW Police attempt to ban Palestine rallies a year on from October 7
‘Hands off Lebanon, Hands off Gaza’: snap protest outside Albanese office
Zeina Khochaiche
The New South Wales Police, supported by Premier Chris Minns, are seeking to ban the planned Palestine Action Group (PAG) rallies held on October 7, marking a year since Israel’s dramatic escalation of the Palestinian genocide.
Both the October 6 and October 7 rallies were submitted and made known to the police through a Form 1, which is a legal ‘notice of intent to hold a public assembly’. The form was submitted for each gathering.
Despite the applications following both police and public processes, the NSW Police went to court to apply for prohibition of both assemblies, claiming they are “not satisfied” that the protest can proceed safely. Premier Chris Minns has supported this ban claiming this move is in line with keeping a “cohesive, harmonious, safe community”.
Per PAG’s social media, the October 7 assembly was a peaceful candlelight vigil held for the people of
Palestine and Lebanon, “mourning 12 months of genocide and terrorism”.
A statement from Palestine Action Group release read, “Palestine Action Group has been organising peaceful rallies for 51 weeks. This application takes place in the context of the genocide that Israel has been conducting in Gaza for a whole year.”
“The application to ban demonstrations commemorating and mourning one year of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and now invasion of Lebanon is an attack on fundamental democratic rights”.
The PAG denounced the ban on communities gathering to mourn and protest on October 6 and 7. “We have a right to demonstrate and we refuse to concede to political attacks aimed at detracting attention from the fact that the masses in this country opposes the Australian government’s complicity in this genocide.”
Police withdraw application to ban Palestine protests
Valerie Chidiac, Jesper Duffy and Ariana Haghighi
On Wednesday October 2, a crowd gathered outside the NSW Supreme Court to protest the 2pm hearing indoors, deliberating whether the Sunday October 6 — 1 year since Nakba — protest, and the October 7 vigil can go ahead. NSW Police had stated that they believed these protests a “threat to public safety” but withdrew their application after successful negotiations to move the protests to Hyde Park.
Shovan Bhattarai, USyd SRC Education Officer and an organiser for Students for Palestine, began her speech by chanting, “This is not a police state, we have the right to demonstrate”.
Bhattarai stated that the “priorities of Labor…the police and the Court” have been to “manufacture outrage and fear.” She then spoke about NSW Premier Chris Minns having not spoken about those who have died in Palestine or Lebanon as a result of Israel’s escalation. There was a significant NSW Police presence throughout the protest, with officers
and various media outlets lined up the steps outside the Court.
PAG organisers negotiated with police to move the protest to Hyde Park to avoid the issue of planter boxes near Town Hall. The hearing was adjourned at 4:58pm, with NSW Police withdrawing the contest of the Form 1s from the Court. Witnesses were questioned about the march route passing the Great Synagogue on Elizabeth Street, as well as concerns being raised that there will be numbers greater than Palestine Action Group could estimate.
In a video statement, PAG organisers said, “The police’s case was dismissed and our rally... is authorised.”
They affirmed the result as a “good outcome” and that despite some media outlets reporting otherwise, a vigil will occur on October 6. A standing assembly does not require lodging an f1 form. The organisers concluded by saying that this was a “political attack” on their protests, before repeating calls for people to come out in large numbers to the October 6 protest.
NTEU National Council passes motion for institutional academic boycott of Israel
Valerie Chidiac
On Saturday October 5, the National Council of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) held a meeting where a motion was passed supporting “the institutional academic boycott of Israel”. Over 100 delegates from NTEU branches across
Australia attended to vote, resulting in a majority vote in favour of the motion, five votes against and eleven abstentions. The motion was moved by Lachlan Clohesy from the ACT NTEU division and seconded by Markela Panegyres from the University of Sydney.
On Tuesday October 1, Students for Palestine and demonstrators gathered outside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Marrickville office to protest the expansion of the genocide on Gaza into Lebanon and demand an end to two-way arms deals with Israel. Members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and NSW Police were in attendance. The rally was chaired by Gina Elias, from Students for Palestine.
A Lebanese Australian speaker began by appealing: “My people deserve to live in a land that is not occupied… [one] that we don’t have to rebuild”.
The crowd then chanted “From Lebanon to Palestine, occupation is a crime” and “Albanese you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide”.
The following speaker then gave a history of Israel’s invasions and occupation of Lebanon including briefly in 1948 after the Nakba, during the Lebanese Civil War in 1978 and from 1982-2000, and the 2006 war.
UNSW Students for Palestine activist Avasa Bajracharya explained the role of war profiteering and how it is intertwined with university complicity in weapons manufacturing.
As a university student, she also called attention to the ensuing scholasticide whereby “every university in Gaza has been destroyed”.
The next speaker was Lebanese Australian Jumaana Bayeh, an academic at Macquarie University. She labeled Israel as having “a neverending and insatiable desire to incite violence and conquer more land”, and that “there are no hostages in Lebanon”.
She then castigated Australia’s current leadership, lamenting the “despicable Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and sidekick Penny Wong”,
She also criticised universities as institutions “maintaining a
Per the Palestinian Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), the motion included the following demands:
• “Refusing any form of academic and cultural cooperation with Israeli (academic) institutions.
• Advocating a comprehensive boycott of Israeli (academic) institutions nationally and internationally.
• Promoting divestment from Israel by international academic institutions.
• Working toward international condemnation of Israeli policies.
• Supporting Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts.”
The motion also called on Australian universities to “carry out a nationwide audit” of their connections with the Israeli military and its suppliers,
comfortable stance of neutrality”, while Arab students, staff and non-Arab allies “do not feel safe on campus”.
Activist and UNSW student Emma Terry spoke about how “Labor has never faltered in their support for Israel”. Terry explained that “our governments are expanding military aid and doubling down on political support for Israel”, as many call for a “regional, nuclear war” by pressuring the US to “intervene and attack Iran”.
Terry argued that ceasefire talks were a “facade”, saying, “I’m sorry Labor, I think your calls for ceasefire are bullshit”, before warning that “what they allow to happen in Palestine, one day it will happen to us.”
The final speaker, Yasmin Johnson, from Students for Palestine UTS, spoke to the media’s complicity referring to articles arguing that a war in Lebanon could help Israel’s economy “if fought like 2006” as well as op-eds pro-escalating a war against Iran.
“… This is an opportunity for the richest and powerful states in the world… if it requires millions of dead bodies, they won’t hesitate,” Johnson continued.
Throughout the rally, it was reiterated that “Students for Palestine is only getting started”, telling protestors to “take the anger you feel watching children be massacred in Gaza and Lebanon” and channel it into the fight for justice and liberation of oppressed peoples.
Rally chair Gina Elias encouraged attendees to “come out in numbers” to the October 6 protest, commemorating one year since Israel’s genocide “because the media will not”.
Elias also spoke to the next major rally on Thursday October 31 protesting the NSW Defence Summit, which is platforming weapons manufacturers like Lockheed Martin, complicit in the bombings of Beirut.
as well as publicly disclose and cut ties to the weapons industry. It then urged that scholarships be provided for Palestinian students and scholars, and that universities “commit to supporting the re-establishment of higher education in Gaza.”
It called on Universities Australia, the peak body representing Australia’s 39 universities, to “withdraw from the 2013 memorandum of understanding between Israel and Australia on cooperation in higher education”.
Two other motions were passed; one for the NTEU to endorse and promote their own National Day of Action for Palestine on October 23, and another for the NTEU to make a public statement against the scholasticide in Gaza.
Attempts had been previously made for the National Council to support BDS for over a decade. A consensus position was reached by NTEU members for Palestine before putting these motions to the National Council and state branches.
Valerie Chidiac, Victoria Gillespie and Ariana Haghighi
Students outraged at latest attempt to reduce simple extensions to two days
Angus McGregor
The University is again proposing simple extensions be reduced to two days in the latest fight over the contentious policy that allows students to get an automatic five day extension on most assignments.
The policy change would be implemented from Semester 1 2025, and students who need more than two days will need to go through the more arduous special consideration system, providing documentation proving illness or misadventure.
The change is hidden in a larger proposal to the Academic Standards and Policy Committee (ASPC) by Professor Adam Bridgeman, Pro-ViceChancellor (Educational Innovation), that includes the extension of feedback tasks and changes to the University generative AI policy.
The University announced back in June that five day extensions would be reviewed, calling the policy a “trial change.” Simple extensions were two days before Semester 2, 2022.
The document does not contain a justification for the change and a University of Sydney spokesperson did not respond to questions or requests for comment.
Students are outraged at the proposal, telling Honi Soit five days were essential to balance overlapping assessment timetables and other commitments.
One student said that it was common for “three different assignments [to be] due in the same three day period,” and another said that the alternative was difficult, “I am too anxious to apply for disability adjustments.”
Outgoing SRC President Harrison Brennan (Grassroots) told Honi that “it’s outrageous, given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, where students are having to work more than study
in order to afford rent, bills and food, that USyd is still hell-bent on reducing simple extensions.”
Students living out of home and in student accommodation told Honi that five days was crucial to balance their increasing work hours. One said flexibility was crucial “to be able to make rent” and another said they would space out assignments “so I can afford student accommodation.”
SRC Education Officer Grace Street (Grassroots) told Honi that the SRC would fight the changes.“We are planning a solid, coordinated effort across our SRC executive and collectives to mobilise all students to express their dissent, and to organise student representatives on the Academic Board.”
The University’s last proposal to reduce simple extensions was voted down when it reached the Academic Board after a massive campaign led by the SRC and SUPRA which collected over 1400 testimonials from students.
Unlike last year, the two day proposal is not being taken to the Board, a change Street argues is evidence the University is trying to force through the changes without student consultation.
“We will not let them quietly pass it through the Academic Standards and Policy Committee without consultation of students or a vote in the Academic Board, and it is absurd that management thinks they can do so,” she said.
Incoming SRC President Angus Fisher, who campaigned on maintaining five day simple extensions, also committed to fighting the proposal. “It is unfair to take these important tools away and disproportionately affects working students,” he told Honi.
“Further, as a tutor, simple
extensions have been at worst a minor inconvenience when marking,’ he said, ‘the argument that it is anything more is false.’
The same proposal to the ASPC also makes changes to the special considerations process, raising the evidence threshold students have to hit and decreasing the time students can apply in certain circumstances.
SRC Disability Officer Khanh Tran argued the changes would disproportionately hurt “students struggling with mental health conditions and disabled students.”
“These attempts by the University to restrict an already strict special considerations and late discontinue not to count as fail set of rules are incredibly disappointing and not communicated to students. The evidentiary threshold is already high and require strong proof of adverse circumstances,” they said
Brennan told Honi the SRC Casework team was already being burdened with students struggling with the late discontinuation process and this would only get worse.
“It appears this university wants to force unnecessary hardship and adversity upon students, rather than keeping and improving the measures that have brought students the most relief during these hellish times,” he said.
The overwhelming sentiment from students is that simple extensions being there was a comfort when unexpected events came up. One student said they “just let students breathe.” “If the University cares about student well being and mental health,” another said, “act like it.”
The ASPC is meeting on October 8 to vote on the changes.
The past, present, and future of abortion rights on
CW: This article discusses matters related to sexual health and the complicated discussions of abortionrelated care.
International Safe Abortion Day was held on September 28, marking 14 years of an internationally recognised fight for better reproductive health care. Following this, it’s crucial to revisit the accessibility of abortion care locally; on USyd campus, and throughout NSW.
In Australia, abortion care is legal but not fully subsidised through Medicare and priced according to the different abortion resources: telehealth, medical and surgical. The cost of an abortion is different for each state and territory and in some cases entirely financially inaccessible.
Commenting on NSW and Sydney resources, USyd’s Women’s Collective (WoCo) stated, “With only two public hospitals in NSW offering surgical abortions, people still face exorbitant costs, and bureaucratic red tape just to access this healthcare. This is a direct
consequence of over-policing women and gender-diverse people’s bodies.”
In response to this inequality, the University of Sydney has introduced their pilot podcast, Access all areas: Abortion in Australia, with a goal to “make abortion care accessible to all by harnessing the power of storytelling”.
Lea Redfern, an academic from the Media and Communications faculty, coordinates the podcast incorporating students in the process.
While a useful resource for some students, such a service can only act as a superficial solution to larger, structural issues like disparate access to services on campus. Earlier this semester, anti-reproductive rights groups protested on Eastern Avenue and University security was called.
WoCo suggested to Honi that there still remained vast inequalities of access across campus. The collective stated, “We’ve recently learned that a reproductive health clinic within the Residential Colleges can prescribe mifepristone — the drug that can
SRC & NUS 2025
The following candidates have been provisionally elected to serve as Councillors on the 97th SRC in 2024.
1. Grassroots for SRC: Rand Khatib
2. Grassroots for SRC: Ishbel Dunsmore
3. Koi for Penta: Norn Xiong
4. Save Student Services: Ivan Samsonov
5. Stand Up for Accessibility: Saskia Morgan
6. Colleges for Students: Alisa Rao
7. Save Student Fees: Connor O’Neill
8. Left Action Against Landlords: Simon Upitis
9. Penta for Mingle: Clare Liu
10. Save the SRC: Om Karki
11. Save the SRC: Sandip Khadka
12. Penta for Synergy: Christine Peng
13. Impact for SRC: Angus Fisher
14. Impact for SRC: Eleanor Douglas
15. Left Action for Free Palestine: Jasmine Al-Rawi
16. Penta for Fun: Bohao Zhang
17. Student Intifada: Vieve Carnsew
18. Left Action for Free Education: Deaglan Godwin
19. Left Action for Free Education: Maddie Clark
20. Left Action against Genocide: Shovan Bhattarai
21. Left Action against Genocide: Laura Alivio
22. Save Simple Extensions: Alexander Buchanan
23. Save Simple Extensions: Arden Skinner
24. Grassroots for SRC: Sidra Ghanawi
25. Penta for Lumina: Kaylie Su
26. Impact for Free Education: Gerard Buttegieg
27. Grassroots for Feminism: Martha Barlow
28. Free Palestine for SRC: Harrison Brennan
29. Free Palestine for BDS: Grace Street
campus
administer abortions.”
“While we welcome this, we condemn the University for not allowing all students access to this clinic. Every student, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, deserve to access this healthcare, yet this institution chooses to withhold it.”
For those looking for healthcare on campus, the University Health Service is located on level 3 of the Wentworth Building available to students and staff. The centre offers advice on “women’s health” and on “contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, including HPV”.
The spokesperson also told Honi, “Our counsellors offer support tailored to students’ individual needs as they explore their choices. They also work with GPs and/or clinics to connect students to specialist support, such as the Marie Stopes Clinic or Family Planning Australia.
30. Penta for International Link: Anu Khulan
31. Gymbros for SRC: William Khoury
32. Penta for Student: Ethan Cao
33. Impact for Real Change: Red Tilly
34. Stem for SRC: Philip Howard
35. Grassroots against Landlords: Lilah Thurbon
36. Grassroots for Disability Justice: Remy Lebreton
37. Left Action against Genocide: Emma Searle
38. Colleges for SRC: Bea McDonald
39. Grassroots for Human Rights: Eliza Crossley
The following candidates have been provisionally elected to serve as delegates to the National Union of Students (NUS) National Conference, in order of election.
1. Grassroots for NUS: Simon Upitis
2. Left Action for NUS: Deaglan Godwin
3. Impact for NUS: Mia Williams
4. Save the NUS: Aryan llkhani
5. Stand Up for NUS: Leo Moore
6. Grassroots for NUS: Lauren Finlayson
7. Free Palestine for NUS: Maddie Clark
Zeina Khochaiche
2024 SRC Election wrap up
Liberals surge as Grassroots loses presidency
The University of Sydney Students’ Representative Council (SRC) has been shaken up after years of left bloc dominance. While the 2024 SRC Election has brought a variety of unexpected shifts, one thing seems to be clear: if the left wants to succeed at council this year, they will need to work together to contend with a large Liberal contingent.
Turnout increased this year by over 700 votes, with 2539 presidential votes compared to 2023 votes last year, demonstrating an increased awareness of student politics among students.
While the SRC retains a left wing majority, an NLS president and resurgent Liberals will shift priority away from debating activist strategy, towards the concerns of the ‘average’ student that NLS and Liberals both claimed to champion: prescriptions that were never clearly defined and smell of populist rhetoric.
PRESIDENT
In the first three-way presidential race since 2018, this year’s results saw the end of five consecutive years of Grassroots presidencies. The results were surprising to all, with Honi’s exit polling indicating a comfortable first preference lead from Rand Khatib (Grassroots), even on the last day of voting. In Honi’s precount analysis, emphasis was put on preferences as Angus Fisher’s (NLS) only path to victory as a result of this undercounting.
In the end, Fisher won the primary vote, with 38% to Khatib’s 37%. Fisher received 1,071 primary votes across the three days of voting. Khatib received 1,021 votes. Thorpe received 684 primary votes.
In a compulsory-preferential system, preferences are essential to victory. A candidate has to secure over 50% of the vote share, and must do this via cascading preferences if they cannot win outright.
However, the SRC uses an optionalpreferential voting system. This means that voters do not need to preference all candidates on their ballot. In fact, if they wish, they can simply include
a primary preference and submit their vote at that. In this case, if their primary preference is knocked out of the race, their vote exhausts and no preferences flow to any other candidates. To win, a candidate doesn’t need 50% of the vote and can win on primaries.
After Thorpe’s preferences were distributed. Fisher won with 1380 votes to Khatib’s 1043. A slim majority of Thorpe voters did not preference either candidate.
What does this shock result mean for Grassroots? Some serious self-reflection, Honi should think. The election was close, but after a year of apparently increasing interest in student politics, a long-lasting incumbency, and a highly visible campaign of Palestine activism, Grassroots failed to produce a win.
Fisher’s message that the SRC is a screaming mess — and that Grassroots has played a role in this chaos — clearly struck a chord with some voters. Whether this really was the decisive factor in Fisher’s success is hard to know. It seems much more likely that NLS mobilised a stronger ground campaign, utilised personal networks effectively, and negotiated significant deals with other campaigning factions, such as Penta.
NUS
Seven delegates to the National Union of Students were elected with a factionally identical line up to 2023. The quota this year was 329.625, a significant increase from last year’s 246.75, but still slightly below the 2021 election where 404 votes were required to get elected in the first count.
Left Action (SAlt), like last year, holds the largest primary vote, electing four delegates (including “Grassroots for NUS” candidates). Impact (NLS) placed second, electing Mia Williams as their sole NUS representative. Unity (Labor Right) has also managed to elect Stand Up’s Leo Moore.
The Liberals have maintained their sole representative, electing Aryan llkhani.
SRC
The 2024 Student Representative to Council elections saw significant losses across the board for left wing and Labor seats. The biggest hits were taken by Socialist Alternative, who lost two seats, and Solidarity, who only retained one of their two. Grassroots, while retaining the nine seats they held last year, only just scraped by, with their last few seats elected far below quota.
The quota to be elected to council this year was 70 votes. While Switch — Grassroots’ sibling faction — did not run in this election, Grassroots members instead ran on Free Palestine tickets. Combined, the left bloc secured 40% of primary votes which is a distinct drop from over 45% last year with a total of 17 seats of a possible 39.
Running under Impact and Stand Up, NLS and Unity got a combined 18% of the vote, less than Revive’s almost 19% last year, showing that support for Fisher’s presidential campaign came from various factions and did not translate to higher votes in the Council.
In 2025 the left bloc will comprise approximately 44% of the seats on council, a substantial decrease from last year’s 54%. Labor’s share went down from 19% in 2023 to 15% with Unity holding 2 seats and NLS holding 4. Notably, the Liberals seat percentage went up from 13.5% to approximately 22%.
Penta clearly played a large role in Fisher’s win, with the faction securing 7 seats or approximately 18% of the council. This represents a 13% increase in votes from last year.
The Liberal ticket last year barely broke 10% and the resurgence of the right on campus is likely the result of a Liberal presidential candidate, Thomas Thorpe, who brought in more conservative voters, College attendance, and campaigners.
With an increase in Liberal seats, the left may struggle to block them out of all OB positions at RepsElect, as they did last year.
To get any semblance of a majority, Fisher will have to negotiate with Grassroots or Left Action as the NLS constitution bans him from dealing with the Liberals. It’s unclear if the left bloc will be oppositional after losing the Presidency, but the trend of council meetings focusing on the rightward lurch of the Labor party suggest the former is more likely.
Equally significant, though, is the massive boost in Penta seats. Though traditionally the faction has made deals with the left bloc, in recent times, international student groups like Penta have found themselves alienated from the SRC, who they see as having done little for the immediate, material threat of international student caps. If the left bloc wants Penta’s support, perhaps more will have to be done than the usual concession of an OB position.
Mid-semester break is an important time for every student. It provides essential rest from the onslaught of lectures, homework, quizzes, and assignments that never seem to end. It is a time for students to catch up with each other and go on outings they’ve been putting off in favor of class. Students who work can get some extra hours in to boost their savings.
But this semester the weeks have stretched and stretched. Seven, eight, nine weeks passed and students didn’t see any reprieve. Work piled up, assessments felt unmanageable, and work with less weighting was left to the wayside.
In comparison, the break in Semester 2 2023 occurred after Week 8. In Semester 1 this year, it was Week 7, a perfect half of the semester. When Week 9 finally rolled around, student fatigue was palpable as soon as you entered any third-space on campus.
Curious to gain some insight, Honi Soit braved campaigner-crowded thoroughfares and begged the question: how do students feel the lateness of this break has affected them and their studies?
Straight from students:
Dahlia: I’m tired. I’ve been skipping classes because I need a break.
Ezra (majoring in Physics and Theatre & Performance Studies):
Most people I know have either broken down and taken a week off themselves in a time that’s good for them. It’s definitely taken a huge mental toll on people’s studying capabilities.
James: You get behind on lectures after mid-sem cause you’re so tired.
Benjamin (Environmental Science staff): I can’t attend important conferences that I need to be at in order to keep my knowledge up to date in my field, because I’m doing all this marking. So it’s hard to keep up with the scientific community.
Art: I have 6 assignments this fortnight, all of them I took an extension for but I don’t have time because of class and labs. I usually do them in mid-sem.
Declan (Staff member): The Uni frames it as a ‘wellbeing week’, but there’s so much catching up for us and for the students. It actually ends up being a catch-up week for the students.
Logan: I think it’s mismanagement and it tells the students that the Uni’s ‘mental health prioritisation’ is a performance. It shows they don’t actually care that students need a break. I know people who have been skipping class in earlier weeks because they can’t work. What’s the point in having it so late if people are going to take a break earlier in the semester anyway?
Lucy (Sem 1, Year 1): To be honest, I didn’t even know we had one of those until my mate asked me about it and I thought, “we should probably have one of those.”
Ajita & Daler: It’s been tiring. We have a lot of assignments and if the break was in Week 7 or 8 it would have been good. Having it earlier would have allowed everyone to catch up, and our exams are soon after the break so what’s the point.
Slouching towards mid-semester break
Cam (majoring in Electrical Engineering): I’m falling behind on stuff, and looking to mid-sem to catch up but because it’s so far, that’s not realistic. Stuff is building up and I’m delegating to mid-sem. But the things that are due before then, I’m not sure how good they’ll be because haven’t caught up on the knowledge.
Fateh: I’m tired, its cold. At this point you just want to finish the last four weeks once the break is done so it feels pointless.
Peter: I was hoping it was in Week 6 like last sem. Then it was perfectly timed but now it feels so late, and would have been better a few weeks ago.
Seri: It definitely hasn’t felt like an actual break, and it has made things harder. The point of the break is to have a rest and catch up on classes, and because it’s so late, it doesn’t feel like I can do that.
Jesper Duffy puts the Uni to the test.
After conducting these interviews (and prior to conducting them), one thing is clear: staff and students are not happy with this semester’s schedule. With many of these complaints echoing the same thing, it has to be asked: what was the University thinking?
Many more students who wished to remain entirely anonymous expressed extreme anguish about their inability to effectively study for in-class quizzes and hand-in assignments, that while relatively short, all add up to weigh a large amount in their course.
Students are also angry that their mental wellbeing isn’t being considered, and staff are tired of high marking volumes when the pay rates they can achieve for these volumes is not enough to justify it. Staff members that spoke to Honi also commented that students aren’t able to get the feedback they need on time because of the workload staff are faced with.
The late date was decided by the University’s academic board in 2021 with all semester dates determined years in advance.
When asked why the date was so late, a University spokesperson told Honi that “for many years we’ve scheduled the Semester 2 mid-semester break for the week before Labour Day, and the dates for this break are published on our website 12 months in advance.”
Because Semester 2 this year began a few days earlier, the spokesperson said, “while the mid-semester break falls at the usual time, it is very slightly later in the academic calendar.”
Something different needs to be done in future with the semester scheduling system. When it does, the University needs to take student health into account, and ensure that students aren’t being left behind, weeks prior to mid-sem break even beginning.
NB: where students provided their majors it has been listed. Names have been changed for anonymity.
Raising the roof on rents
Ellie Robertson looks in to USyd student accomodation.
Ah, the notorious time of the year when every student living in accommodation is shaking and aching to get their reapplication forms in for next year. Sadly, this isn’t due to how much fun they’ve had or how great the student accommodation facilities are. It is due to the fear that they will be left homeless and stressed in the current housing crisis. Through the hunger of skipping meals
2025
Lowest Rates (Accessible/ Biggest Rooms)
Queen Mary Building $420 per week
Regiment $441 per week
Abercrombie $553 per week
Darlington House $322 per week
and the jitters of downing powdered coffee, the weight of deciding whether to save for that $100 acceptance fee or whatever bond fee there is for getting a typical mouldy rental share house runs circles through everyone’s heads.
Student accommodation prices have been a constant issue with the University of Sydney. Having seen year after year of activism surrounding the issue, it is simply upsetting to see that there seems to be no sign of real change that will benefit the students.
As well as the jarring foreshadowing of having to save for these upfront costs, student accommodations across campus have increased their annual rent by 6-8% per week for 2025. This means students are looking at paying a broad range of approximately $300 to $600 per week for USyd-run accommodations (this is not including Scape or Iglu, which are generally more expensive). Leading rental website, Real Estate AU, deems that the average price for a one bedroom unit/apartment in the suburbs around campus is $550 per week. It is shocking — yet not surprising — that this average is below the most expensive prices in student accommodation. At the prices students are paying for, they would be able to afford a quiet unit with their own bathroom, kitchen and bedroom. Instead, in exchange for some kind of propaganda university social life and lack-lustre security, they have to opt in for a building full of up to 800 students and skip their meals instead.
The real kicker of these increases is the intense and worrying differences in prices between single rooms and accessible rooms.
With higher rates for accessible rooms, which do not typically have more electrical appliances (just more space), it is
appalling to see the unjust discrimination towards students with accessibility needs. At a University that preaches diversity, it is a shame to see a $60 disability tax per week, exploiting vulnerable students once again. The direct ableism of these price differences affects those who are more likely to be under financial stress due to workplace discrimination and other various barriers that may come up. To
2025
Lowest Rates (Single/Smallest rooms)
Queen Mary Building
$360 per week
Regiment $380 per week
Abercrombie
$495 per week
Darlington House $322 per week
profit on such vulnerability is not unusual from our university management.
Now, let’s take a look at the maths of it all. The majority of students in accommodation are international and are typically on a student visa, which have many limitations to the ways that they are able to live in Australia as an international student. One of these barriers is the fortnightly working hour cap.
Student Visa working hour limit = 48 hours per fortnight
We’ll split this up into 24 hours per week for simplicity.
24 x $22.70 = $544.80 per week
This is how much an international student would make per week on a minimum wage at 20 years old in Sydney — before tax. The average weekly household cost of living for a single person in Sydney is between $100 to $200 — this is based on necessities, not including medical bills or emergency money. With student accommodation prices being as high as they are, working students are cutting it fine for survival. Students have been told multiple times throughout the years that the University bases their accommodation prices on the current market, and lowers it accordingly. However, in the midst of a housing crisis, it is shameful and inhumane to compare student housing to the “normal” or “average” housing market. Students, especially international students, do not have the choice to have a full-time job without compromising their studies and health. Expecting students with limited time to work to be able to afford these prices and also be the “ideal” student that USyd preaches in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is elitist, classist and out of touch.
Student accommodation should always be for the accessibility to students, not for major profits.
Straight from students:
“As an international student who has historically had trouble getting a job in Sydney and who had no idea how to navigate housing outside the university when I moved here, student accommodation was the only accessible and understandable option to me, but the increasing fees on top of my high tuition and generally increasing cost of living cause me a lot of stress. I’ve alternatingly been late on rent or not been able to go shopping for a couple weeks many times over the past year due to the high cost of rent and struggling with budgeting for everything, which is quite paralysing and makes keeping up with my studies difficult.”Wendy, SRC Queer Officer 2024
“I currently live in an accessible room at Regiment. Recently, I noticed the weekly rent has increased to $441, a $70 rise, which seems unreasonable. I reside in this room due to mental health challenges and ongoing therapy. I’m facing financial difficulties, struggling to cover rent, living expenses, and counselling fees. As I’m graduating in May, I don’t have the time to take on part-time work to support myself. I believe other residents in accessible rooms share similar concerns about the price hike. Many may have disabilities and face financial challenges that make it harder for them to earn money, making this increase especially burdensome.”Anonymous Regiment Survivor
“I was already thinking of moving out of the Regiment, because I knew the next rent increase was going to be too expensive for me, and the facilities don’t really seem worth the price. Now, I definitely have to move out because they’ve begun charging an extra $60 for accessible rooms. I was very lucky to get an accessible room, but I’m surprised at the large price difference as the rooms are not that much bigger.” - Anonymous Accommodation Castaway
“A clear and substantial difference has been identified between the prices of accessible and standard student accommodations. These ‘accessible’ rooms have little to no extra appliances, amenities or furnishings, they are merely a bigger room compared to the standard, and yet the university charges upwards of $60 or more per week for these rooms. Forcing students with accessibility issues to pay a premium to meet their accessibility requirements is an abuse of power for the sake of profit! This is another shameful case of the corporate university putting profits before people, charging as much as they feel they can get away with, rather than providing affordable or accessible housing to students who need it.”Remy Lebreton, Member of the Disability Collective (DisCo)
“It’s shameful that once again the corporate university is raising fees for those living in student accommodation. While the University continues to make billions in profit, including from its ties to fossil fuel companies and weapons manufacturers abetting the genocide in Gaza, students are now being forced to pay up to $600 for accommodation on campus. We know that this will disproportionately affect regional and international students, who are also bearing the brunt of racist government policy in the form of the international student cap. The University needs to fully fund student accommodation on campus and ensure that all students have a safe and quality place to live.” - Gerard Buttigieg, SRC Welfare Officer 2024
Student media: The past, present and possibilities
Zeina Khochaiche and Ariana Haghighi
Introducing the “jo”...
It has been a challenging yet fruitful year for Australian student journalists. Student publications around the country have navigated turbulent funding, governance barriers and coverage of one of the largest student activist movements in recent history, fighting against a tempestuous mainstream media storm. Nevertheless, student media has persisted, and by little pen strokes fell great oaks.
But when we refer to student media, we don’t just mean the weekly broadsheet newspaper that hails from the City Road windowless dungeon. We want you to think of student magazines, radio stations, periodicals, podcasts and social media channels fashioned out of passion and dedication. Student journalists invest their creative, professional and academic time into producing a project that holds up a mirror to their campus, and also turns our minds to a university we wish to see.
This year, Honi Soit has engaged with student media across the country and even traversed oceans to find out what makes each of us similar, and also
a little different. The weekend before last, we also saw the return of a beloved initiative, a Student Media Conference, which crammed student journalists like sardines into the spectacular rooms of John Woolley and the Education Building.
It’s a hackneyed excuse, but it’s true. Since COVID lockdowns, grand in-person initiatives have been difficult to get off the ground, and dreams of a Student Media Conference have been relegated to our minds… but armed with some serendipitously-acquired Student Services Amenities Fees (SSAF), these Honi editors made some Messenger connections and doggedly got to work.
The Student Media Spotlight weaved the vital fabric for the Conference in facilitating connections between interstate student journalists. When we began working on the Student Media Spotlight early in the year, we thought it would be a dorky passion project between regular Honi Soit tasks. It quickly became an underrepresented insight into the landscapes of university publications and their valuable
Student journalism past
As far as we know, the University of Melbourne’s Farrago is the oldest continuously running student publication in Australia since 1925. Four years later Honi Soit was born but so were two other publications, On Dit and Pelican from Adelaide University and University of Western Australia respectively.
For the uninitiated, here is a little refresher on how Honi Soit came to be: in 1929, a ragtag bunch of students came together to “force [themselves] upon your notice, [...] to strip the veneer, to open the cupboard on our skeletons, and those of other people, to tell the truth without fear or favour, and to assist our readers in their search for the Touchstone of philosophy — happiness.” In this introductory editorial, entitled “Why We Publish “Honi Soit”, editor A.E. Crouch set down the mantra that has swirled around Honi ever since: “we are iconoclasts.”
It was this iconoclasm that seemingly inspired our name, pulled from the motto of the Order of the Garter, displayed on the royal coat of arms: Honi Soit qui mal y pense: “shamed be him who thinks ill of it” in Anglo-Norman French. From its inception, our name was a piss-take, and one that sparked thousands and thousands of weary explanations from editors through the ages about what exactly it means.
This was the same year the USyd SRC was founded, an amalgamation of four smaller student associations.
The increase in student media and representation throughout the 1920s was part of the post World War One breakdown of traditional class structures across Australia. The Labor party was growing as a political force for the first time and strikes became common.
Further, the modern University was rising to create something to fight. The first National meeting of University leaders took place in 1920 and with cooperation came professionalisation. USyd got its first Vice Chancellor in 1927. It’s fitting that the figure Honi goes after the most began its tenure with the paper.
Honi has been published weekly throughout semesters since, and has maintained a thoroughly countercultural, unabashedly left-wing stance through decades of change and political upheaval in Australia. From justly oftremembered coverage of Vietnam War protests to unfortunately oftforgotten championing of East-Timor independence; from covering Tony Abbott’s stupol antics to antagonising the conservative press too many times to count, Honi has been a raucous student voice through the ages.
Its dependence on the SRC was not always so set in stone. In the 1931 SRC Annual Report, the President J.M Gosper suggested that the continuation was purely “experimental.” The survival of Honi until it gained the recognition
contribution to campus culture.
The spotlight itself was born out of a camaraderie found during the coverage at the National Union of Students National Conference (NATCON) in Ballarat in December of last year. NATCON was a fast-paced, high-pressure experience of news and analysis coverage that tested the patience of publications like Farrago, Woroni, Empire Times and our own Honi Soit. Yet, we were able to forge an intimate bond over the course of four furiously-fast paced days. Originally, we started the spotlight thinking not enough people know about other publications around Australia other than the few of us with too much time on our hands. We still think that. But what we found instead was that we are student journalists because we believe in expression and coverage of student matters like course cuts, staff working rights and the Sydney creative scene.
These student media spotlights would be nothing without the generosity, passion and collaboration of all involved. We often met on Zoom, late at night, due
to flooded university schedule fatigue and looming publication deadlines but our conversations were never fatigued.
of precedent, even during the heights of the Great Depression where University funding collapsed by 30%, is a testament to students viewing publications as a necessity, a feeling that is being eroded in a modern oversaturated environment.
In every student spotlight we realised the barrier of funding and budgetary restrictions was central. Editorial positions like Grapeshot from Macquarie University are entirely unpaid, with editors fighting tooth and nail for publishing funds let alone compensation for the hours they put in. Grapeshot’s current editors are grappling with censorship, but this is not a new issue for this masthead. In 2017, Macquarie University censored a one page article on sexual assault and and harassment on campus, with similar puppeteering strangling coverage on student activism for Palestine.
On Dit over at the University of Adelaide have struggled to publish this year due to censorship. Tensions between the student union, YouX, and editors in search of editorial freedoms erupted in 2022 when the union removed editor Habibah Jaghoori from office after she published an article in support of Palestine.
Others like Glass have experienced recent budget cuts but are still able to pay their editors for a set hourly rate per week. Almost every publication doesn’t compensate their contributors, a decision made either due to budgetary boundaries or logistical terrors. Our neighbours, Vertigo, currently have no office and have experienced halving budget cuts twice in the past two years.
Most of Australia’s student publications’ have toiled in isolation. At least, or so we thought. The National Library of Australia holds a gem in its collection, “Worhoni soitharunka”, a 1967 joint effort between the three publications. Its editorial explains its impulses: “This merged issue of the three newspapers was due for a long time. What finally brought about its publication was the situation of Australia’s Tertiary Academic level”. Its cover reads, “Australia drowning: hanging on for our lives! Whither Australian universities?” reminding us of why inter-student media collaboration is so critical: the issues plaguing each university are widespread and systematic, and in some ways, timeless.
‘Woroni Soitharunka’ combined issue, 1967
Let’s get these scrappy journos in one room
Though we thought we were the first to ideate and host such a meeting of the student journalist minds, this was far from the truth. The archive’s first memory of a festival of student journalism dates to 1998, where a Student Journalism Conference was held in conjunction with This is Not Art (TINA) in Newcastle. Following this, a peak body for student media was established in 1999. Whilst TINA chugged along from 1998 to its disbandment this year, the Student Media Conference reached the age of seven before petering out. After the 2003 Conference, organisers secured a grant from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and published on the Student Media website (now only accessible via the Wayback Machine) that, “The NSMC has moved from a simple yearly conference to a major catalyst for change in the Australian community media sector.” Alas, it was not as sustainable as they predicted, having its last hurrah in 2005.
After the Newcastle Student Media Conference faded from the horizon, Woroni came to the rescue with the Australian National Student Media Conference (AUSMC), running in 2013 and 2014. The AUSMC website (also only accessible via Wayback capture) sounded the resonant clarion call: “It’s a well-established fact that young people love the sound of their own voices. That’s why almost every university and TAFE in Australia and around the world has a student media organisation: a newspaper, a magazine, a radio or television station, and/or a website.”
Meanwhile, a summer conference tradition sprung in Naarm/Melbourne. The National Editors Workshop and Skillshare (NEWS) Conference, running
in-person from 2012-2020 (with an online iteration in 2022), was attended by most student publications in Australia (including a high school student newspaper in 2012). The programs selected curious candidates for the keynote speaker, ranging from former Australian Labor Party Minister for Finance Lindsay Tanner (2012) to feminist writer Clementine Ford (2013).
Our 2024 Conference unknowingly reproduced many of these ideas from our forebears, attesting to the timelessness of student journalist interests and concerns. The conference ran over three days hosting panels, roundtables and workshops from industry professionals such as Antoinette Lattouf, Kate McClymont, Wendy Bacon, Avani Dias and many emerging journalists to teach stu-
dents about the state of their craft. We held reflections on past journalism like the Student Journalism Across the Ages panel and encouraged new mediations on creativity like Palestinian Authors Panel, Creative Writing and Cultural Criticism roundtables and New Media, New Challenges workshops. Over 1,200 tickets were sold with $900 donated to the charity, Olive Kids — an Australian Foundation dedicated to support the children of Palestine through the goal of providing financial aid, healthcare, education, and other support to children living in Palestine. When engaging with tertiary institutions, we cannot forget that there are no universities left in Gaza due to the ongoing scholasticide and genocide.
Reimagining the possibilities
Jumping over to the United States, the university scene embeds student publications as de facto local papers to the college towns and cities built around campuses. Because of this, student publications are closely involved with campus news, academic faculties and volunteer societies. From speaking with The GW Hatchet earlier this year, the financially and editorially independent paper has produced weekly newspaper broadsheets since 1904, operating out of their own townhouse. It must be noted that the Hatchet is still a volunteer based publication. Others like the The Harvard Crimson, Columbia Daily Spectator, Daily Bruin, and The Trojan publish daily in line with the academic year, with immense support from their respective journalism faculties.
Unfortunately, student publications in Australia are far from this model if not entirely incompatible with it. For one, we cannot reconfigure the townships and physical landscapes of our campuses or Sydney college culture. Moreover, the decline of print media is not making that
any easier to achieve. Budgets are being slashed and digital comforts continue to be more preferred than to sip and flick through these pages.
Regardless, there are pools of opportunities to build grassroots communities and movements of student expression. There is potential to expand the Student Media Network and the Student Journalism Conference collaboration onto more campuses and even across the Tasman to our comrades in New Zealand.
Here they set the precedent for inter-campus editorial standards with the Aotearoa Student Press Association (ASPA). Can we imagine an Australian Student Press Association or something thereby? Would publications like Grapeshot and Vertigo be able to fight off their institutional shackles? Would Victorian universities find the backing to revitalise their Victorian Intercampus Edition (VICE)?
To forecast the future of student media is near impossible. While student publications are under the control of
Who’s who on the student media scene?
There are a whole host of student publications across Australia, far more than we have covered so far in the student media spotlights. In fact, even the Student Media Conference 2024 brought together only a portion of the student journalists toiling across the country. Here is a comprehensive list of student media outlets across Australia, broken down by state. Student media outlets that attended the Student Media Conference 2024 are listed in bold:
New South Wales:
• USyd: Honi Soit, PULP, and Surgfm.
• UTS: Vertigo
• UNSW: Noise, Gamamari, Blitz, UNSWeetened
• Macquarie Uni: Grapeshot
• WSU: W’SUP
• UoW: Tertangala
• UoN: Opus and Yak
• UNE: Neucleus
• Southern Cross Uni: FLUNK
• Charles Sturt Uni: Hungappa and Interp
Victoria:
• UniMelb: Farrago
• Monash Uni: Lot’s Wife,Esperanto, RadMon
• RMIT: Catalyst and The Swanston Gazette
• La Trobe: Rabelais Student Media
• Federation University: Fedpress
• Swinburne: Swine
• Deakin: Wordly
• VUT: Hyde
Queensland:
• QUT: Glass
• UQ: Semper Floreat
• Griffith: Getamungstit
• USQ: The Ashes
• Uni of the Sunshine Coast: Scoop
• James Cook Uni: The Bullsheet
• Bond Uni: Bound
Australian Captial Territory:
tight funding or the editorial jurisdiction of their university management, student union or council, stability is not promised. Some publications have fallen to puppeteering, and others have been emboldened by it. These publications are one of the last bastions of unadulterated student expression which stands apart from mainstream, monotonous outputs.
The past, present and possibilities of student media is etched by the hands of every editor, contributor, reader, critic and peruser on campus. Lean on your comrades at other campuses and don’t forget there is no jo like stujo.
• ANU: Woroni and ANU Observer
• Uni of Canberra: Curieux
South Australia:
• Flinders Uni: Empire Times
• Uni of Adelaide: On Dit
• Uni SA: Verse and On The Record
Tasmania
• Uni of Tasmania: Togatus
Northern Territory:
• Charles Darwin Uni: Flycatcher
Western Australia:
• UWA: Pelican
• Curtin Uni: Grok
• Edith Cowan Uni: Dircksey
• Murdoch Uni: Meteor
Give or take, there are currently 43 publishing student media outlets of which Honi is aware. 15 of these attended the Student Media Conference 2024 at USyd, including seven interstate publications.
‘Student Journalism Conference opening ceremony debate’ (September 27th)
STUDENT MEDIA CONFERENCE
Reviews from the stujocon coalface
OPENING CEREMONY WITH ANTOINETTE LATTOUF
Matilda Cheshire: Amid a federal court case against the ABC, Antoinette Lattouf delivered an address at the opening ceremony of the USyd Student Journalism Conference. She came to offer inspiration not, as she put it, “ just the world is fucked and best of luck.”
She admitted she was unsure of trusting herself with a microphone “after the year that was”, referring to her alleged unlawful sacking from ABC radio.
Lattouf is a TEDx speaker, diversity advocate, user of the word “bejesus”, author of How to Lose Friends and Influence White People, and according to her socials “still can’t do a cartwheel”.
Antoinette noted that journalists ranked below used car salesmen in trustworthiness. She criticised journalism’s emphasis on unachievable objectivity, and the difficulty of silencing our own beliefs. The antidote? Acknowledge your biases, diversify your newsrooms, and don’t drown in guilt if you are indeed a straight, white, male.
Antoinette was alarmed by Australia’s media concentration and saddened by the death of local news. She acknowledged her personal brand grants her the ability to freelance: a luxury not available to all. Then applauded small independent media companies like Cheek Media and The Daily Aus who compete against legacy/ institution rooted papers.
Antoinette explained that voices challenging the status quo are often confined to the gig economy, making them vulnerable to being pushed out, causing fragmented media.
Antoinette‘s closing remark to the students’ eyes whose attention she’d gripped for close to an hour was, teasingly, “no pressure!”
IN CONVERSATION WITH MEHREEN FARUQI
Ellie Robertson: Senator Mehreen Faruqi gave an inspirational account of what student journalism is, how politics is inherently intertwined within student journalism and gave our young student journalists advice on how to move forward past any public criticism.
The moderator, Pepsi Sharma, asked Faruqi to delve into topics including student politics, media outlets, social media and diversity within the industry. She emphasised the unique role student media plays in holding those in power to account without having the censorship of large corporations. With this, Faruqi notably mentioned her opposition to the recently introduced Campus Access Policy (CAP), implemented by University of Sydney management. Faruqi discussed the repressive nature of this policy and urged students to continue the fight to push against the policy. Delving into many insightful ways in which student media differs from mainstream media in the way of censorship and the way truth and facts are told, Faruqi praised student media as being known for producing a more opinionated platform that actively pressurises those in power. Overall, the
Q+A was a great environment and amazing opportunity to hear how people external to university view student journalism as a whole.
“Take no shit. Hold people to account, don’t be afraid.” - Senator Mehreen Faruqi
ZINE WORKSHOP
Ting Jen Kuo: On the Friday afternoon of September 27th, a tutorial room nestled in the liminal corridors of the Education Building was transformed into a scrapbooking heaven worthy of several grandmothers. Eager zine-makers clustered around tables piled with assorted magazines and vibrant papers, strewn with scissors, glue and pens in a satisfying upset of the orderly room. More people crowded in as we started fidgeting with the material, touching, testing, itching to get started.
Mia and Max, enthusiastic hosts of the interactive zine workshop event, kept their preamble short. Sharing their love of this “fundamentally unserious medium”, they described their journeys into zinehood as beginning almost by chance. Showing some of their own zines, they explained that zines could really take any form and be about anything your heart desires.
The room wasted no time digging in. Following the standard one-page booklet zine format projected on the screen, there began a flurry of exchanging supplies and ideas. The experience of creasing stiff card, carefully cutting outlines, and pasting glue onto images provided some much-needed respite in the Week 9 chaos. Conversations sparked around the room, with people sharing zine contents and moments of connection. Overall, the workshop was a refreshing and fun dive into combatting the mental block of creating.
SARA AYOUB Q&A
Victoria Gillespie: In the second event of the Student Media Conference, Honi Soit’s beloved Valerie Chidiac sat down with author, academic and journalist Sarah Ayoub to discuss all things Australian writing and ArabAustralian representation in such literature. Ayoub humbly described her debut, a young adult novel, Hate is a Strong Word, as a fluke. Chidiac noted, the novel is considered a kind-of Looking for Alibrandi, for its representation of young women and minority experiences.
“Stop buying Colleen Hoover”, Ayoub reiterated the importance of buying and borrowing Australian stories. Only 10% of the total price of a book goes towards an author, which becomes 5% if the royalty has to be split with an illustrator. These authors now have to take the reins of their own self-promotion, spending hours labouring over their social media presence. Ayoub reminded us of the prevalence of exploitation; publishing relies on you knowing nothing: the less you know the better it is for the publishing houses’ profit margins.
For upcoming writers, Ayoub advised the following; do your research, go out and engage, read a lot, don’t be swayed
by people’s social media presence, know your rights, join your union and call shit out. We may still be looking for Alibrandi, but Ayoub did remind us that things have gotten better. Things only get better because of active attempts to make them better, and Ayoub’s talk was a reminder to all that this is possible.
CLIMATE CHANGE WITH DR KARL
Michelle Agnelli: Why was Sydney the hottest place on Earth on 4 January 2020? Who spent billions to cover up climate change research? These provocative questions from Dr. Kruszelnicki’s Little Book Of Climate Change Science set the tone for his lecture at the Student Journalism Conference, marked by his signature eccentricity. With the urgency of a man trying to explain quantum physics before a kettle boils, he distilled complex data into digestible nuggets appropriate for the student journalist audience, with enough complexity for the science enthusiasts hidden amongst them. The facts were alarming and infuriating: the elaborate cover up of undeniable climate science and its drastic precipitating effects, including tipping the earth off its axis. Beneath the charisma and quick wit, ”Sky tv is a mixture of the DunningKruger effect and the village idiot”, Kruszelnicki managed to reiterate the situation’s gravity. Handing out free copies of his book for anyone who answered a question, the afternoon tea break— necessary respite from the sobering facts and catastrophic future projections— turned into an impromptu book signing. Ending on a quasi-optimistic note on how we could “easily stop, and then reverse” climate change—and a warning against the “it’s just business” attitude of corrupt politicians—Dr Karl’s call to action left us with a lot to think about, turning the bleak into the bizarrely hopeful.
IN CONVERSATION WITH FATIMA PAYMAN
Eleanor Douglas: Day 2 of Honi’s Student Media Conference featured an interview with Senator Fatima Payman. The discussion covered her decision to cross the floor for Palestinian state recognition, her subsequent suspension, and her current role as an Independent senator. Some of the best parts of the interview were about the functions of her role as a Senator, and what she can do for the community as a newly Independent politician. For instance, Payman noted that major party senators are often limited to touring specific parts of their state, whereas as an independent, she can now engage with a broader spectrum of Western Australian voices.
The most interesting discussion came from the audience question section, where participants asked Senator Payman about her belief in the capacity for “change from within” considering how the Labor Party treated her for having an opinion which did not even formally contradict their Party platform. Senator Payman’s response was somewhat vague. She advised “staying true” to one’s beliefs and assessing whether more change could
be achieved by staying or leaving. Her comment that “the Labor Party has lost its way” and her uncertainty about achieving a free Palestine within the current Party hinted at deeper reservations. Some more discussion on why she thinks this is the case — or how she thinks those confines could be pushed internally — would be interesting.
COMICS AND ILLUSTRATION WORKSHOP
Angus McGregor : Legendary AFR political cartoonist David Rowe joined 2024 Honi Soit editor Huw Bradshaw in conversation before leading a spontaneous workshop on how to draw current MPs.
Rowe described his workplace as a cold war between him and the increasingly conservative business oriented editors. A self-proclaimed “lefty,” he told the room he puts his daily cartoon on the editor’s desk at the last possible minute to avoid any political or legal challenges.
To encourage attendees to flex their satirical muscles, a wheel of all current lower house MPs was spun and the unlucky winner chosen to be the room’s subject. To make us all “feel less bad” Bradshaw made sure the wheel landed on a Nationals MP and then a Liberal one— so much for randomness!
While jovial there was a sombre tone to the workshop as well. Rowe pointed out that he was the last cartoonist left at the AFR and the role was dying with the print squeeze.
While good satire, in the era of figures like Trump, is needed more than ever, we may be close to the end of an era where figures like Rowe get up every morning, inhale the news, and sit over their desk to poke fun at the powerful.
A signed cartoon now lives in the Honi office
JOURNALISM AND THE LAW
Rachel Halliday Shand: It is indisputable that journalists need to know their legal rights, and perhaps more importantly, their obligations. It is equally indisputable that there has been no time more than now that this truth has reared its unmistakable head. This was brought to light during the Journalism and the Law Panel Discussion, wherein Jahan Kalantar, Louise Buckingham and David Rolph shared their insights into how journalists can navigate the increasingly regulatory context of media, whilst retaining a provocative fervour which has so often become synonymous with good journalism.
Much of the panel’s discussion centred around whether the law unduly limits journalistic practice. Prominently, this was an inquiry which considered how the decline of mass media and rise in independent journalism has necessitated increasingly broad definitions of “journalism” within the legislative realm: such that the already restrictive landscape within which journalists operate may be subject to an even further curtailment of creative freedoms. Proposed torts for invasions of privacy were considered a further impediment to journalistic freedoms. However, the possibility, albeit ambitious, of the enshrinement of press rights as a constitutional freedom brought a glimpse of respite to the room of eagerly attentive journalists. It was a riveting, dynamic and insightful afternoon, which
certainly repercolated my keen awareness for the necessity of preserving journalistic freedoms in a world that appears, at times, hellbent on forsaking them.
ARCHIVE-DIVING
WORKSHOP
Angus McGregor : Led by former USU Archivist and 2021 Honi Soit editor Marlow Hurst, attendees were taught how to take advantage of online and physical archives to retell campus stories.
Hurst immediately demonstrated his curiosity by getting everyone in the room to introduce themselves and the publication they came from. Despite the “East Coast bias,” he seemed satisfied with the diversity.
Skills like keyword searches were reviewed, Trove was discussed, and Hurst showed off his archival pieces. We learned about USyd’s League of Nations club (RIP) and its war era obsession with trenches.
Attendees also took away a warning. Before the era of deformation and DSPs papers like Honi were full of lies and comedy that was well disguised. Hungry reporters looking for stories should beware of taking any story too seriously.
If people took anything from the seminar it should be the necessity of
publications, especially student ones, thinking about the active. That means not losing articles and other online data (cough cough SURG), taking photos of your office and editorial team, and keeping group chats.
We often think of archives as just the papers themselves but Hurst emphasised that the historians and researchers of the future were also deeply interested in the papers’ creation.
NEWSWRITING 101
Thuận Ánh: The News Writing 101 Workshop featured moderator Aidan Elwig Pollock and three esteemed panellists, including ABC News journalist Alice Trenoweth-Creswell, and Guardian Australia journalists Rafqa Touma and Luca Ittimani. Even at 10am on a Sunday, the last day of the Student Media Conference, the John Woolley Building was filled with excitement and witty, heartfelt exchanges between the panellists and the audience. The Workshop traversed far beyond the surface of news writing, from how one may seek out stories (with an emphasis on the human angle and care about the surrounding environment) to pieces of advice for pitching.
Rediscovering
Kuyili Karthik sorts the CDs.
What juxtaposition? I think there was none, certainly no friction between the Indian classical and Opera CDs lying on top of each other like restful lovers on the shelf in my childhood living room. Unlike the princess and the pea, I had peaceful dreams while resting my chin on that pile, noticing no great gulf between the Occidental and South Indian. Those songs were all my own because they reached the ears and permeated a yet to be scrambled brain…
Many have spoken of the horrors of migration, what it does to the mind and soul, and it sounds like an MK Ultra experiment rather than that natural journey humans have made for centuries. They speak of lullabies that shriek from distances: I think the physical distance of 9,120km from Sydney to Chennai represents the leagues at which my childhood memories are buried.
Since the days of the East India company, we have found ways to milk the Indian cow. India was bled dry: rajahs penniless, precious gems looted, and the devastating effects on Indian society and economy go without saying. Not only was spice and cotton exported from India to the West, but yoga and enlightenment. In searching “yoga” on Google, I find images of mostly white yogis. It shocked me to learn that many don’t know of yoga’s origins and history, which I find to be inalienable to the practice. I felt that the Western conception of my home came to colonise my own definitions and perceptions. The reality follows
Something that stood out from the two-hour duration was the realisation that the role of news writing is dynamic and always changing. The discussion centered around student and off-campus journalism, but it often considered how the former contributed to and helped shape the latter.
As the session progressed, the role of news writing became clearer. Fastpaced. Exciting. Requiring a balance of objectivity and the journalist’s own view. Emotionally challenging. Empathetic and respectful towards interviewees. Values consistency and a well-thought-out portfolio. No clear pathway. Collaborative with understanding editors and colleagues who can give helpful feedback. Requires safety cautions from backlash. All details that seem to make every second worth one’s attention.
NEW MEDIA, NEW CHALLENGES: SOCIAL MEDIA WORKSHOP
Michelle Agnelli: The social media workshop led by Nandini Dhir (TheDailyAus journalist and former editor of PULP) and Arabella Ritchie (Woroni TV editor) was a refreshing dive into the heart of student journalism. Nandini brought
a wealth of experience and insight, including having worked at SBS and Channel 10, reminding us that student journalism is not just a stepping stone; it’s a vital part of the media landscape that deserves recognition. Her passion was infectious, as she shared stories from her journey, illustrating both the challenges and the triumphs of navigating this fastpaced industry. Arabella complemented Nandini’s insights with her perspective from Woroni TV, creating an engaging dialogue that felt both personal and relevant. The workshop focused on crafting vox pops and navigating CapCut — a relevant form of reporting that allows journalists to capture real voices in a rapidly changing world. The session wrapped up with a lively Q&A that offered invaluable advice — it’s okay to push back on editors’ suggestions, make a website to showcase your work, tight deadlines fight perfectionism — and reflections on the unique creativity that student journalism allowed. Participants left feeling invigorated, armed with practical advice and a renewed sense of purpose in their journalistic endeavors, underscoring the importance of establishing a personal online presence in today’s digital age.
the Indian canon
not far behind, with Westernisation looming as a cultural threat. Westernisation, however, might be a red herring in our current moment of ‘deculturation’ rather than cultural colonisation. It might not be the case that one dominant culture usurps another in an era where social media and globalisation reduces cultural differences to markers of style. The virtual world of signs is colonising our real one: culture becomes a post, a tweet, a Pinterest board. I am not as pessimistic as these arguments of French political scientist Olivier Roy in The Crisis of Culture: Identity Politics and the Empire of Norms (2024) a book which echoes Christopher Lasch’s famous The Culture of Narcissism (1979). They share a paranoia of cultural institutions crumbling: one such institution is definitely those physical collections of CDs, DVDs, cassettes, vinyls handed down from family and friends.
I know enough to piece together my family history of music, even if those collections are in storage far away. The women of my family gravitated towards Carnatic music, becoming classical vocalists and playing the veena and tanpura. The men on both sides found a different kind of mysticism in Jimi Hendrix’s arcane guitar improvisation or Wagnerian tendencies. The women, be it a symptom or a cause of their love of devotional music, were far more religious: God’s name was a presence in their songs and their daily mutterings. That isn’t to say that rock and symphonies held nothing except
the allure of status: it holds, for all its listeners, a frisson. Whether this same electricity is produced in a cultural vacuum is another inquiry entirely. Eastern aesthetics and mysticism are exoticised and commodified in the West. Auteurs like my beloved Wes Anderson have been enchanted by arcane practices of South Asia. I dearly thank Wes of the West for his film The Darjeeling Limited (2007), which brought together Satyajit Ray’s movie soundtracks from my childhood with the comedic genius of Owen Wilson and the talents of Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. The meaning of ‘cool’ as an adolescent in my creative arts high school meant using Letterboxd as soon as you set foot in the film classroom with Amélie, Black Swan, Mulholland Drive, and Paris, Texas posters adoring the walls. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dead Poets Society were pervading the malnourished minds of teenagers aping some classical (colonial) definition of academia. My English-medium primary school in Chennai followed that canonical strain of intellectualism handed down by the British Raj: to recite Coleridge from the heart was the mark of a learned Indian. Artists of my home country beleaguered to make good art, as Satyajit Ray once called the Indian audience “backward” and “unsophisticated”. I heard the familiar flute of ‘Charu’s Theme’ from Ray’s Charulatha (1964) and Ali Akbar Khan’s stringed sarod in The Darjeeling Limited soundtrack, playing alongside English bands
The Kinks and The Rolling Stones. This meant that these two corners of the world were not irreconcilable. James Baldwin put it best: a good artist is like your lover, who makes you conscious of the things you don’t see. Wes Anderson’s poignant story, with its childlike colour saturation, recontextualised for me the mysticism of Hindu chants and the melodies of sitar.
British authors like Kipling, Ruskin Bond, and Roald Dahl (whose short stories were adapted by Wes Anderson for Netflix) have based successful works around this alien paradise. In Wes Anderson’s new series of short films, he adapts (minimally) the shorter works of Roald Dahl, the late prolific writer known for shaping the literary landscape of many childhoods including my own. Culture is stratified into those upper-echelon consumers of high art (imports from abroad) and those consuming local lower media. I struggle as an Australian teenager to find good Indian works: they warranted a stamp of Western approval for me. Perhaps each diasporic recollection of home,its sounds and sights, has to be filtered through a foreign lens. Equally, in the opposite direction, I will keep a keen ear for whatever chords sound like the Carnatic raga, and whatever words sound like my rusty mother tongue.
Alexandra Dent analyses.
Where do you get your song recommendations from?
I made my very first playlist back in year eight. It was an amalgamation of recommendations from my cool older cousin, songs that I analysed in my year seven English class, bands introduced to me by the parents of friends, and tracks that I remember hearing on the car radio. It was titled Commute and I listened to it religiously on the bus rides to and from school.
Whenever I meet someone new, I like to find out what music they listen to. Not to cast judgement, or assert musical superiority, but to get a sense of who they are. When looking over someone’s playlist, you start to see little bits and pieces of their personality. You learn what music their parents played in the car, which songs they pretended to enjoy in high school, and the bands whose entire repertoire they have memorised.
In curating my own playlists and scrutinising others, I’ve developed a hunger for something new. Something which recently, I’ve had trouble satiating. Spotify’s ‘Discover Weekly’ feature has served me well over the past few years, but frankly, I’ve grown bored of it. I commend Spotify on its ability to accurately assess just how much I enjoy indie folk music, but there’s a limit to how many sad acoustic guitar songs I can listen to. I think there’s something great about knowing what you like, don’t get me wrong. However, it can get a bit boring after a while.
Although having recently introduced an AI playlist generator that creates playlists based off of prompts that you give, as well as a wide collection of curated playlists, Spotify has not quenched my thirst for a new sound. My Daylist today told me that I listen to pov: indie and Beatlesque on Wednesday afternoons and that I should listen to some twee, indie-chill, stomp and holler, jangle and hipster. Whatever the hell that even means.
What all of these funky AIgenerated playlists have in common is the same collection of music in varying orders. Each playlist serves up a series of songs that I already know and love, as well as a few new tracks that are remarkably similar to what’s already in my library. In an attempt to discover new sounds, I’ve found myself in a musical echo chamber.
Commute is now seven years old. That’s old enough to be in
year one, learning to distinguish between imaginative, informative and persuasive texts. So why is it that this primary school-aged playlist has persevered when others, made more recently, have fallen to the wayside? Commute reminds me of when my friend Sylvie introduced me to The Smiths, or when I watched Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom for the first time and became insufferably pretentious. My newer playlists, many of which contain songs suggested to me by an algorithm, are nonetheless enjoyable, but are devoid of this history.
With machine-composed music steadily on the rise and algorithms dictating what we add to our playlists, it’s more crucial than ever to embrace what really drives music: the people behind it. Frustrated with these technological limitations, I set out to find some novel ways of discovering new music.
Let’s start with the most obvious way to find new music: getting recommendations from friends. It’s easy to forget just how much of your taste is influenced by the people that you spend time with. Reflecting on my taste in music, some of my favourite tracks and bands were recommended to me by friends. Curating playlists for those close to you is, in my opinion, an underrated form of bonding. In fact, I’ve recently started making birthday playlists for my friends. These playlists often include songs from artists that they already like, songs that we’ve enjoyed together, and most importantly, songs that remind me of them.
Engage with your local music scene! If you’re taking a stroll around the busy parts of the Inner West on a Friday or Saturday night (or most nights really), it’s likely that you’ll stumble upon live music. Sydney’s gig scene is chock full of hidden gems that would make a fantastic addition to anyone’s musical library. You never know, the band that you found sequestered in the corner of a dingy bar may be the next big thing and then you’ll get to tell everyone that you found them first!
If you’re curious as to what ‘Indonesian Folk Pop’ or ‘Brazilian Doom Metal’ sounds like, check out everynoise.com. Created by
former Spotify data alchemist Glenn McDonald, everynoise.com is a musical smorgasbord serving up genres from around the globe. This site is a fantastic form of procrastination — which is especially useful as we head into exams. Everynoise.com allows you to hear a taste of each genre, and if it’s something that piques your interest, you can click on the link and discover the various artists that fall under that category.
Another word of advice — don’t underestimate the humble library. Many libraries have shelves of CDs available for borrowing, and recently, I’ve enjoyed checking out a stack of random CDs and listening to them while I study. Admittedly, I’ve had to eject some after the first track, but it’s
also been a brilliant way of discovering music so outside of what I’d usually find myself listening to. The same principle totally applies to Vinnies, where CDs cost about $3 each! It’s easy to forget that music is pretty much everywhere and that it exists outside of the boundaries of streaming platforms. In focusing so much on convenience and practicality, we’ve lost the art of finding new music. Next time you find yourself shuffling the playlists curated for you, or clicking the first track suggested to you, consider challenging yourself a bit. Great albums are referenced in books, brilliant songs can be found in film soundtracks, and new artists can be found playing at your local markets.
The concept of an artist’s muse is no new phenomena. A lover, a place or an experience being the epicentre of inspiration and tortuous creativity is a long-documented part of history. For art, think Gala Dali and Salvadore Dali, Lord Alfred Douglas and Oscar Wilde, or more contemporary collisions like Pixy Liao and her Moro. For music, think Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, Erykah Badu and Andre3000, Paul Simon on Carrie Fisher’ and Joan Baez on Bob Dylan.
I have always felt inspired by how powerful of an impact one person or a fleeting romance can have on an artist, a song or sometimes an artist’s entire discography. I thought this creative beau ideal longing was rare and only permissible to the lucky ones. That was until I met Suzanne.
The muse of ‘Suzanne’ has appeared on the tongue of many artist’s across the decades. Starting from Leonard Cohen’s famed 1960 poem, Suzanne, these inspired lines were converted to song and originally performed by Judy Collins in 1967. Cohen wrote his poem about his experience pining over a platonic but agonising intimacy with a friend called Suzanne, he connected with in Montreal. Following its success, Cohen debuted his own lyrics in song format and the rest was history.
So, I have chosen 4 renditions of Suzanne for your musing and listening pleasure.
‘Suzanne’ by Nina Simone (1969)
Nina Simone took her own rendition of the song, ‘Suzanne’, into higher empyrean with her deep but bouncy ballad. Covered only 2 years after the first professional release, Simone’s ‘Suzanne’ is sultry and rugged, breathing new life into Cohen’s previously witchy and elusive depiction of Suzanne. Simone fiercely defended Suzanne like she did Aunt Sarah, Saffronia, Sweet Thing and Peaches…
‘Suzanne’ by Neil Diamond (1971)
Neil Diamond’s spin is my least favourite. Whilst a striking profession of love for our Suzanne, it felt like Diamond transformed the lyrics into an “I am…I said”-esque ballad without the delicateness or vulnerability of the lines. Regardless, Suzanne was again
Suzanne, bring me tea and oranges
catapulted into the hearts of 1970s rock-pop, taking on a new melodic image of her own.
‘Suzanne’ by Nick Cave, Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla, (2006)
Meeting her decades later, this version feels like a tango between the two lovers, finally affording Suzanne the chance to interact with the poet’s characterisation of her. With vocals led by Nick Cave and harmonised smoothly with Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla, this rendition takes the achey – almost insufferable – male yearning and feminises it. Cave, potentially in line with his famous religiosity, repeated the stanza with the Judeo focus, a questionable but stand-out diversion from Cohen’s original concluding sentiment.
‘Suzanne’ by Meshell Ndegeocello, (2012)
Meshell Ndegeocello meets with Suzanne in an album titled, ‘A dedication to Nina Simone’ covering some of Simone’s most thrilling tracks. Ndegeocello’s version is a layered, light and percussion driven version, echoing the bounciness of Simone’s take. Being over four and a half minutes long, Ndegeocello makes room for the instruments to paint a picture of what it feels like to love Suzanne.
I decided to end with Ndegeocello’s rendition of Suzanne not because it’s the latest cover or the best one but because her version does not pay homage to Leonard Cohen. Instead she worships the Suzanne that walked out of the lyrics of Nina Simone’s oeuvre.
This mysterious Suzanne captured the imaginations — and sanity — of countless songwriters and audiences, becoming one of the most covered songs of Cohen’s entire discography. Suzanne with at least 30 different chart-topping covers. Make no mistake, I believe it is more than Cohen’s yearning lyricism that has etched Suzanne into the hearts and voices of many. I believe it is the agony and unrelenting haunt of loving your own Suzanne that will make the muse eternal.
Zeina Khochaiche falls in love with Suzanne.
Art: Claudia Blane
The state of the Union
Chau Chak Wing Museum –– the concrete behemoth shrouded in trees, inhumed next to Fisher ––currently offers Union Made: Art from the University of Sydney Union A combined project between the University of Sydney Union (USU) and the Museum, the exhibition toasts 150 years of the USU, consisting of work from its century-old art collection.
The Sydney University Union was established in 1874 as a debating union only for men. The Union was a professional body of wealthy, academic men, eagerly modelled off their Oxbridge counterparts. Almost a century later in 1972, the debating
Protest(ing) art (1990s)
The opening wall comprises two works and the first theme: Student Activism. The Union acquired John Young’s May Day March (1974) when the artist was still studying at Sydney College of the Arts. The work depicts a melee of students protesting among a recognisable George St. The second activist work is Robert Campbell Jnr’s Charlie Perkins (1987), purchased from the Boomalli Aboriginal Cooperative in the 1990s.
Bought from artists and community, these works signify a participatory and visionary accession process. Vickers ran the USU art collection committee where students, artists, and board members played a role in decision-making, challenging the hegemony of curatorial professionals. They reflect a Union willing to support student activism within its time, instead of belatedly.
There’s a deep irony here. The incorporation of protest materials in the University’s official, institutional histories and locations is fraught, amidst the organisation’s ongoing clear distaste for activism.
Art and architecture become one (1970s)
The second wall comprises modernist work commissioned and acquired for the Union’s new brutalist building: Wentworth. This was a new age for the University and the Union, both unions amalgamated in 1972, and under Whitlam’s 1974 legislation, university was free.
Aided by Max Dupain’s photographs, taking up a small part of the wall underneath the label, the audience is invited to see the works in situ. One can imagine Wentworth’s “angular brutalism” harmonising with the figurative colourful works including John Coburn’s screen-printed organic shapes, in Fiesta (1970) and Sentinel (1987), Col Jordan’s Oxide break (1971) and Barrie Goddard’s tessellating Solar split (1970). Some form lyrical landscapes, Richard Larter’s Pluto the playful pup (1967), while others emerge into jarring colourways and shapes.
union combined with the Women’s Union to create the modern-day USU.
At first, it may seem odd for a debating union to want to develop a collection. Still, one must remember its history: through art, the Union could imitate the European tradition of debating unions, cement its elite status and create a legacy. The Union’s collection began in 1914, with the commissioning of Norman St. Clair Carter’s’s mural for the Reading Room in the newly-built Holme Building. As the first label recalls annual reports, the Union intended accession as an “a definite scheme of artistic decoration”.
Again, acquisition details provide insight. The Australian art world was gaining recognition, most of these abstract pieces were purchased from domestic artists. Now-renowned artist Coburn, donated Sentinel — indicative of the collection’s esteem.
We are reminded once again of the ideological power of art and architecture. While the 1970s marked this idea of ‘progression’ and in art and social politics, the Union chose to name their new, costly building after William Charles Wentworth, a key figure in the 19th colonial project.
Colonial impositions (1914-1960s)
Notably, the ‘European Tradition and Regional Landscapes’ comprises the majority of the exhibition’s works. These works were largely decorative, purchased for the Union’s two buildings, Holme and Manning (built in 1917). These landowning, academic types couldn’t simply welcome the illustrious compatriots, alumni, and esteemed Federation figures into their cigar-smoking sojourns, without some cultural expression. Imbued with antipodean cringe, the Australian intelligentsia were keen to show their artistic appreciation, in the form of international accessions. Accordingly, the Men’s Union presidents were able to choose a painting during their term.
This section is uncomfortable – we see the creation of Australian and European landscapes justifying the new colonial project. The Union’s intent in procuring this pastoralist, Edwardian landscape complies with the ideological purposes of art during the early 1900s — developing an attachment to the Australian land. The colonial belonging was at least partially, advanced by such displays
Here, the depiction of the Antipodean coastline reaffirms colonial attachments. Herbert Badham’s oil painting La Perouse Holiday (c. 1936) depicts the beach as a site of leisure, but simulatenously historical erasure. Near the beach shacks a Union Jack flies.
Elsewhere this section includes internationally renowned works, like
Artistic decoration or curatorial activism?
In 2019, the collection was donated to the CCWM for preservation and accessibility reasons. This exhibition offers us 36 works of the collection’s total of 536 works. Shown nonchronologically, These are split into four themes and acquisitional periods, presenting an array of art styles, from Australians like Emily Kame Kngwaree, John Coburn, Arthur Streeton and international figures Albrecht Dürer and Maurice de Vlaminck.
The collection creates its history, imposing importance and institutional value on certain types of creative expressions, certain forms and abstractions. The collection engages
with Australia’s ever-confusing ‘art market’; the well-oiled coffers of the Union purchased art in the promise it will accrue value. Elsewhere, various leaders were undoubtedly forwardthinking, helping to build curatorial breadth and depth.
The exhibition isn’t about the pieces, not really. It’s a history of a collection, and its relation to the Australian artworld. What encouraged the Union to commission, collect and preserve these pieces? Art history exists on a continuum, the Union’s collection both conforms and challenges the contours of Australia’s artistic landscape.
This acquisition was visionary — Kngwarreye has come to be one of, if not the most, successful Australian artist.
IndigenousRecognisingArt
(1980s-2000s)
The show then moves from the cramped European section to a breathing wall of contemporary Indigenous art. In 1980, the Union began acquiring works from First Nations women artists in Utopia Station and male artists in Arnhem Land. The process was respectful, collaborating with Indigenous curator Djon Mundine, in comparison to prevalent issues within Australia’s ‘secondary market’.
These works display First Nations’ ways of knowing and being, especially custodianship of Country. Many are bark paintings, including Thompson Yulidjirri’s Kangaroo with joey, portion of cooked kangaroo (c. 1984), Philip Gudthaykudthay’s Minytji (landscape) (1985), George Milpurrurru’s Mewel - Honey Spirit (1988), John Mawurndjul’s Barramundi and Catfish (1997), and Terry Ngamandarra’s Gulaidj, waterlillies (1990). Some stick to traditional and found materials like ochre, plant fibre and charcoal, but others deploy materials like synthetic polymer.
The exhibition concludes with the prominent orange ochres of Emily Kngwarreye’s Untitled (1992).
Unmaking the Union
With the imposition of VSU, the USU’s coffers were stripped, storage space became problematic, and by 2009, the collection was inactive. The USU’s artistic purposes are carried out by Verge Gallery. Yet elsewhere; the student perspective is missing. Both CCWM and the University’s current public art committee include no student representation.
The exhibition is a little curatorially confused. These acquisitions barely reflect an engagement with student life, or activist movements, but instead discrete trends in Australian art history. ‘Union Made’, alongside its promotional protest aesthetics, becomes semantically disingenuous. The selected accessions reveal how elite culture engages with art, and how curatorial forward-thinking can stand outside of that.
Thematically the show is jarring, but emerges later, to exist as a whole. Each acquisition gives us a historical glimpse, from which we can extract meaning and interpret the organisation’s intentions. Maybe, this show allows us to unmake the student union. Our current corporatised Union is historically contingent, it’s changed and will change again.
Fauvist Maurice de Vlaminck’s gloomy work Paysage (After the Storm) and Albrecht Dürer’s small woodcut print, Christ before Caiaphas (c. 1508).
Victoria Gillespie goes to the museum
For the uninitiated, 1997 was a big year for alternative rock-band, Regurgitator. Their second album, Unit, won Album of the Year at the ARIA Music Awards and the accompanying tour included a Hangover-esque nightout that left their drummer comatose for a week with no-one able to recall why. At the peak of their commercial and critical popularity, the Brisbanebased outfit seemed primed to release a third album.
2024 marks twenty-five years since …art dropped. Released after a yearlong hiatus, the initial reception was lacklustre; though it debuted at second-place on the Australian charts upon release in 1999 (sandwiched between Come on Over and the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack), it exited the top-50 in a little over two-months.
The critical reception was also mixed. In a chatroom interview hosted by Rolling Stone, lead vocalist Quan Yeomans noted that he “wanted to retire after” the reception received by …art. Yet, he reiterated his confidence in Regurgitator’s idiosyncratic style, “I should stop apologising for this bands [sic] misdemeanours at some point
Four stylish young lads, spearheaded by a voice quintessential of the sixties British Invasion, sang about love and life. Unmistakably colourful in appearance, they were full of personality — almost as if that was the point. Alas, I’m not talking about the Beatles, nor the Rolling Stones. They’re the Monkees, and they were made for television.
As a band and a concept, they are singular. No group put together for the small screen was ever as musically successful, earning the admiration of the ‘Fab Four’ they were designed to mimic. They even broke free of their corporate shackles, but not before delivering a highly popular, artistically brilliant television series and several great albums.
Their story begins in Hollywood. Soon-to-be teen idol Davy Jones was the first face set upon by filmmaker Bob Rafelson and producer Bert Schneider to construct their new band, but his voice was perhaps his greatest quality. American rock ‘n’ roll icons of the fifties had fallen off in circumstances varying from tragic to depraved. In a scene to some extent dominated by British mavericks, Jones, from Manchester, had a quintessentially English voice that fitted right in.
“Folk & Roll Musicians-Singers for acting roles in new TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, age 17–21,” read the magazine advertisements.
Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Micky Dolenz, all Americans, completed the bill. Dolenz, cast as the drummer, and Jones would mostly
and grin and bear it.”
The inscription on the album’s cover, “actual product may not reach expectations”, was fitting. Unit’s opening track seemed prophetic in the wake of …art: ‘I Like Your Old Stuff Better Than Your New Stuff’.
But, this tongue-in-cheek selfawareness is key to what differentiated Regurgitator from more mainstream bands in the 90s—and it’s perceptible across the duration of …art
From the onset, songwriters Yeomans and Ben Ely jab at the music industry and fame more broadly. ‘Happiness’ and ‘Freshmint!’ ironise the band’s drug-fuelled vocation; despite the catchy, pop-rock sound of the former, Yeomans apostrophises, “drug me, fuck me, dull the pain… I’ve got a speck of truth caught in my eye, / Stings like hell and it’s making me cry”.
‘Freshmint!’, perhaps the album’s most enduring song, echoes early80s synth-pop with backup vocals reminiscent of ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’: “keep my skin soft and shining from afar / For my high speed death in the back of a car / … we could boot champagne and snort caviar.”
6 and 7 haven’t aged well, to my ear. ‘Art’ (Ely), is a strange, one- minute experience and the heavily- filtered vocals of ‘Feels Alright’ (Ely) are a bit too nineties for my taste. ‘I Love Tommy Mottola’ (Yeomans) is a return to form. Yeomans’s lyrics in this upbeat, alt- rock tune lampoon the then-Sony
These two Yeomans-written songs (tracks 1 and 3) bookend a return to the band’s grunge roots: Ely’s ‘Ghost’,where the spectral reverb of the guitar riff creates a suitably haunting atmosphere. Similarly, ‘Strange Human Being’(Yeomans) has a grunge sound,though it’s punctuated with elements of hip-hop and surf- rock‘Iharmonising. Wanna Be a Nudist’ (Ely) and ‘I Like Repetitive Music’ demonstrate Regurgitator’s characteristic playfulness; Ely’s frenetic, alt-rock tone is at odds with the song’s subject matter, while Yeomans’s rap pokes fun at boring songs “to which brains get tenderised / Lightly battered and deep fried on Trackshigh”.
Music CEO: “I’ll be your soft young body… / Won’t you shape me, scrape me into a dream?” And, though it’s not often that you see a house song in the middle of an alt-rock album, ‘Are U Being Served’ (Yeomans) fits seamlessly.
‘Obtusian’ (Yeomans) is a fun, alt-rock song and ‘The Lonely Guy’ (Ely) reintroduces the synthesisers before ‘Virtual Life’ (Ely) rounds out the album. The final track, one of the high points, slows the pace of art down. On the precipice of the new millennium, Ely’s grunge anthem decries the burgeoning alienation of an increasingly digital world: “I am living a virtual life / We got everything here inside, come on.”
…art has not had the staying power of its predecessor. While the band embarked on a twenty-five year anniversary tour for Unit in 2023, their third album has received comparatively little fanfare. For such a terrific record, this is a shame.
When asked what it meant to him to see unconventional Australian bands emerging in Regurgitator’s wake, Yeomans said that it provided him “with hope in… a sea of conservatism.”
A quarter century on, …art remains a testament to both the porous boundaries between genres and Regurgitator’s willingness to perforate them further. It is well-deserving of a listen, now and for the next twenty-five years.
split the lead vocal part. In October 1966 came their first single, the hit ‘Last Train To Clarksville’, shortly followed by their self-named first album.
The Monkees would be the first of four consecutive chart-toppers in America. Its spot was taken after thirteen weeks by More of the Monkees, often regarded as their best work. It features successive classic songs, even a couple written or cowritten by Nesmith — given the way they were put together, little of their music during their television run was self-composed. A host of prominent songwriters, including Neil Diamond, wrote songs for them.
Instrumentation was to a large extent provided by the Wrecking Crew, a now-iconic group of backing musicians. They included legendary bassist Carol Kaye, one of the most prolific in history. The Wrecking Crew also played on records by the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys, and many others.
This outsourcing was not up to the Monkees, who lacked autonomy despite being proficient musicians. The band desired more artistic control, with the support of Rafelson and Schneider. A hole in a hotel room wall, the work of Nesmith’s fist, highlighted this struggle.
A couple of albums later came November 1967’s pop and psychedelic rock masterpiece Pisces, Aquarius,
Capricorn & Jones Ltd. By this time the band had won its artistic liberty, but nonetheless made use of session musicians — common practice for many great bands.
Among the spate of addictively catchy songs about love and youthful freedom, ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ stands out for its social commentary. Written for the Monkees by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, it bemoans a conformist, monotonous, overly materialistic American suburban lifestyle:
“Rows of houses that are all the same, and no one seems to care … Another Pleasant Valley Sunday, here in status symbol land.”
Therein lies the enigma: an industry attempt to market to countercultureaffected youth ultimately became a part of that counterculture. John Lennon called them “the greatest comic talent since the Marx Brothers.” Their live performances were scenes of jubilation. In a music genre where
‘sell-out’ is the go-to pejorative, they straddled the line, nonetheless agitating for greater artistic freedom before eventually breaking away from their television roots altogether. Few bands so typify the liberatory feeling and aesthetics of sixties youth culture. At the same time, they formed the basic concept for Nickelodeon’s Big Time Rush, and they are conceptually comparable to One Direction, not to mention the Wiggles! Parodying their television theme song, they imitated their detractors with the selfdeprecating ‘Ditty Diego (War Chant)’ on the experimental album Head in 1968.
“Hey, hey, we are the Monkees You know we love to please A manufactured image With no philosophies.”
And no one did it better. If you want to give them a listen, I recommend Pisces or The Birds, The Bees, and The Monkees.
Will Thorpe joins a band
+86 To The World
Izzy Gee plugs in.
Over the past few decades, the Chinese electronic scene has grown into a vibrant and eclectic culture. One producing some of the freshest international acts worldwide, set domestically between four capitals: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Chengdu.
Growth has been staggered, and at the mercy of differing waves of state cultural policy. But the scene has persevered, sometimes inexplicably.
Chinese raving is a unique paradox. Partying in one of the world’s most tightly monitored and policed states, in places that feel totally free. Euphorically lawless. Places that feel out of sight, at least most of the time.
Raids are a reality, however, and the scene exists at the mercy of differing waves of state cultural policy. The authority of the police force in all major cities means that parties can be subject to immediate and random closure.
Solidarity holds the scene together. A mutual respect for the creative work put into parties, and of the common struggle for resources, protection and recognition.
These changes and waves of momentum are felt particularly in Beijing, the nucleus of Chinese politics and surveillance and ground zero for any cultural position adopted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)..
Nightswimmer
Nightswimmer (@_night_swimmer on IG) is a fixture of the Beijing club circuit. Originally from Wuhan, he describes his style of deejaying as “euphoric, tribal, eerie, and transcendental”. His latest release, ‘Xia Ye’, premiered in 2022 on Beijing label Shy People. It’s a sonically brilliant piece, expertly navigating a reverberated landscape of changing speed, East asian strings, and classical synths, peppered with moments of introspection and elation.
He’s now a regular DJ and promoter around the capital, and organises a party called Pot of Gold, named after Chestnut’s 1992 house classic.
Nightswimmer says that the national palette, and a lack of emphasis on musical education in the country, is one of the biggest limitations for producers. “We don’t have this kind of music history … in middle school, all the musical classes might be replaced by maths or Chinese. So [we] don’t have this kind of basis for underground music.”
Nightswimmer says he feels that local crowds don’t support Chinese acts, and worries that the current surge in popularity may just be a product of fad culture. “I can see a huge decline in the number of audience[s] … people recently take clubs and rave music as something like a craze. They might think that techno is fashionable … they might not really care about music.”
He says that electronic musicians are marginalised in Chinese society, a space that generally holds little regard for the value of music. “DJs are the underdogs of [our] music industry … it’s still pretty barren compared to other countries’, especially European culture.”
He says that the support of the community, however, a familiar network connected across the nation, keeps the scene alive. “I feel connected with the community here. Everyone is very supportive and whenever a promoter is having a party all other promoters and close friends join up and we enjoy this party. That’s the reason why this community can always survive.”
NYB
Beijing-born DJ NYB says that harsh policing makes it hard to throw government approved, or even ignored parties. “It’s like walking a tightrope, and running very carefully.”
A resident of TAG, one of Chengdu’s staple clubs, and frequent
performer on the Beijing circuit, he says that Beijing politics have had an immense trickle-down effect on the health of the scene. “We had a very promising electronic music scene around the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but then because of political reasons, because of drug control, because of cultural control, we didn’t grow as we wanted.”
In the last few years particularly, the government has escalated its stance on drugs and turned its attention to nightclubs and parties. Random raids, forced testing, imprisonment and deportation have pushed much of the talent overseas, to greener cultural pastures. Recently, however, the stagnation of the economy has seemed to blunt the intensity of the attention afforded to electronic music spaces.
“Around the time of the epidemic, everyone seems to have regained their enthusiasm, and the potential of China’s electronic music scene now seems endless,” says NYB.
Digital restrictions mean that promoters and DJs must also get creative with promotion. “Due to the controls on the Internet, we cannot use IG, RA, etc. to obtain party information,” says NYB.
Parties are distributed by digital word-of-mouth. Immense Wechat group chats where promoters and deejays can share their events with the community. The work is thankless. DJs work for low quotes. Club owners make little return, even losses on events. Bar and venue staff work for very little. Sometimes nothing at all.
“I think it’s love,” says NYB. “Some of my friends have lost a lot of money running clubs and have put a lot of time in. I think it can only be like that with love.”
Where to now?
These problems are typical. High overheads, police pressure, underfunding. All familiar issues for promoters and deejays around the
world. But here, they are particularly pronounced. Digital restrictions make it harder for foreign label heads and promoters to connect with and discover Chinese acts. But this enclosure also gives the scene a distinct element: Character.
Electronic music today can feel, at times, homogenous. Much of the music today is the product of a new generation of bedroom producers, connected by digital landscapes. Their sonic cues are the same, their mediums similar, and they innovate along the same lines.
Like the turtles on the Galapagos, isolation has forced Chinese producers to evolve alone. Digital captivity has made the Chinese look inward. Taking cues from their own musical history, infusing their electronic music with a strong national character.
This has produced a unique style of production and catalogue of national work, particularly ambient and atmospheric music, defined by distinctly Chinese musical elements and a clear energy. It tells a story. And Chinese electronic is one of the most authentic capsules for contemporary Chinese culture.
A recent uptick in interest may prove fruitful, positioning Chinese electronic as a cultural ambassador to the world. Deeper and more frequent coverage by big publications like RA and mixmag, and more consistent parties by large international brands like Keep Hush and Boiler Room are exposing more and more of China’s scene to the rest of the world.
The success of rising diasporic stars like Tzusing, Ciel, CLARA and many more are pulling international eyes to the scene, and local acts are pushing to capitalise on the creative momentum of the lockdown period.
In Nightswimmer’s words, “We want to make our own voice in the international music scene. We want to produce our own music, our own style.”
On group chats
As I scroll up to see the unread messages in the group chat I have with my friends, I’m bombarded by a flood of texts, reels and likes. For all the unread messages that are lined up in my notifications, our group chat continually contributes to growing our friendship during pivotal moments.
The end of high school
The events marking the end of high school — assessments, graduation, the Year 12 formal — were the only things on our minds in Year 12, and the main point of conversation in the group chat. Between the ten of us who were in the chat, the mood ranged from stressing over the impending HSC to excitement about leaving the school gates for the final time.
The end of high school was bittersweet. As Year 12 progressed, we were ready to turn our backs on endless assessments and heavy worries about our ranks and results for good. But we were also going to miss our sixyear long routine of walking together from the station to school, sitting at our bird-poo-adorned silver bench every recess and lunch and chatting away in class together. With mixed emotions, we texted in the group chat
about all these things we would miss — lamenting over the final photo of our bench, counting down together to final exams, sending nonsensical messages representing us silently screaming in our rooms from stress.
Some texts were sent mindlessly but some were sent with intent to share; their meaning emerging from and only existing within the group. Now they serve as a permanent archive for as long as they exist to, in the future, reminisce on those days with the people who made those days special.
The loneliness of being in a new city
After high school, we each took different paths and some moved away from Sydney, either temporarily or permanently. Unlike high school where we saw each other seven hours a day, five days a week, some were now hundreds or thousands of kilometres away. For those of us who moved away, their new cities were a blank slate to fill with new friends and new daily routines.
The group chat kept us close. In these ‘digital rooms’, time flattens and distance becomes non-existent. Through chats on Instagram and
Art: Dirsten Pornel
and growing friendships
Sandy Ou responds.
Discord, we texted and video-called until the late hours of the night regularly. During each of these conversations, we logged on one by one. We showed each other what we made for dinner, shared how our days have been and expressed that we missed being together like old times. Then, one by one we logged off for the night knowing that our hearts were fuller after having the funniest or most deep conversation we had. The group chat became a lifeline in overcoming loneliness and maintaining our friendship.
The time we found out the truth
It was through group chats that one night we found that ‘friends’ was a mere label of convenience for people who seemed sincere but hadn’t established the qualities that give ‘friends’ the definition we know it for. Through secret group chats created outside of the main group chat, the true thoughts and actions of people we thought were our friends were revealed. It was also through group chats that
those of us who were excluded from these secret group chats came to terms with the revelation and took our next steps forward.
Exclusion from a chat is much easier done than exclusion from a real-life situation. We have every power to shape group chats by giving them stupid, and sometimes inappropriate names inspired by in-jokes but group chats also have the power to shape us by becoming spaces where the true dynamics of the friendship group manifest.
The first overseas trip
For years we’ve talked about eventually going overseas together but it was always a far-off reality. Vicariously experiencing the world together in the group chat by admiring picturesque posts of our dream destinations was as close as we would get to them for years.
When the opportunity to travel overseas finally came, the group chat was a place of excitement. From finally deciding on a time and destination to arranging all the travel essentials, the designated travel group chat with the four of us who were going became a hub of anticipation and planning. In between sending links to Airbnbs and the best value flights, we sent reels showcasing the best eats and activities in our travel destinations. The digital room became an organising powerhouse.
The job promotion
When we want to announce a job promotion or that we’ve landed a new job, the group chat is the first place we rush to. Whether it’s a role we’ve been chasing for years or an opportunity we found unexpectedly, announcing it to the group chat is almost an automatic response. Not long after sharing our news, a stream of heart reacts, followed by messages saying “Wooooo” and “Congrats” will have filled the group chat.
Being able to openly share our joy and celebrate our victories in our own private space makes us feel all the more accomplished for having made these achievements in our lives. Navigating adulthood can be difficult but when we have such wins in life, having supportive friends in the group chat is vital to feeling satisfied with where we are.
The future of the group chat
Some group chats become dormant but I wish for ours to endure as a lively digital room. Be it sending funny Instagram reels at 2am or supporting each other when needed, hopefully our group chat will always be our port of call.
President’s Report
Harrison Brennan
In the past few days and weeks we have seen Israel’s brutal rampage expand beyond Gaza to the West Bank and Lebanon. Early in September Israel planted explosives in electronic pagers and walkie-talkies killing over 37 people and injuring many others. A week ago Israel announced its ground invasion of Lebanon and since has commenced raining bombs upon Beirut, killing 37 and injuring 151 people. Israeli fighter jets have also slaughtered 18 Palestinians in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the West Bank. Amidst this brutality, thousands of people across the world have come out onto the streets to oppose genocide and Israel’s escalating brutality, and in response we’ve seen governments, including the NSW Labor government and NSW Police Force attempt to suppress democratic protest in opposition to this slaughter. Whilst the situation may feel miserable, we cannot let apathy set-in, and everyone should do what they can to continue opposing Australia’s support for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. This means continuing the calls for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions - demanding that our institutions cut all ties to the apartheid state of Israel.
In student news, the University of Sydney is attempting to pass a slew of shitty changes to the Coursework Policy 2021 that will have serious impacts for students. They are proposing reducing simple extensions from 5 days to 2 days, a stark contrast to their proposal last year which sought to reduce simple extensions to 3 days. The university is intending to mandate that special considerations requests be submitted by the due date of the assignment, removing the leeway period where students can apply for special considerations three-days after an assignment is due. There are also a slew of changes proposed that would make applying for a late discontinuation without fail almost impossible for most students. The SRC is fighting these proposed changes and will keep students updated on our progress.
You may be aware the SRC elections have concluded! I am happy to see the increase in voter turnout in the 2024 SRC elections and hope this is a sign of future growth and engagement to come! Running on Grassroots / Free Palestine I am incredibly proud of the left-wing, political platform we ran on in this election, paired with our history of delivering material wins for students. Whilst we were unable to secure the Presidency for another year, I am hopeful that the SRC won’t fall apart in 2025, and hope the incoming President, Angus, will keep our seat warm! Over the next few weeks I will begin the handover process with Angus and tend to the SRC’s annual tradition – applying to the university for your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF), to ensure we can do and provide more for you, the students. Keep an eye out for the Women’s
SRC Reports
Collective (WoCo) and their Reclaim and Resist Week which is running from the 7th to 11th of October, and get involved in the National Week of Action – No Universities Left in Gaza – running from October 21st to the 25th!
Queer Officers’ Report
Jamie Bridge, Esther Whitehead & Wendy Thompson
• Alongside Pride in Protest, QuAC hascontinued to push for the NSW Police to be kicked out of marching in Mardi Gras.
General Secretaries’ Report
Daniel O’Shea & Rose Donnelly
Hello from the General Secretaries!
The last couple weeks have been dominated by the SRC elections, and we have both been hard at work campaigning. Congratulations to all those who were successfully elected to the 97th SRC!
We have been meeting with Harrison, Jasmine and president-elect Angus to cook on the 2025 SSAF application, and we are looking forward to briefing the incoming executive team once they are elected at Reps-Elect.
In union news, Rose has been out working with the Nurses and Midwives Association in support of their fight for higher wages.The General Secretaries would also like to extend their congratulations to the Change ANUSA team on a landslide victory at their recent elections.
That’s all from us for now, see you on the flip side...
With love, Dan & Rose.
Vice Presidents’ Report
Deaglan Godwin & Jasmine Donnelly
The Vice Presidents did not submit a report this week.
• We have been busy building the Equality Bill rally on October 12th at 12pm. The NSW Labor government has delayed this vital set of reforms for queer people across NSW, such as self ID and anti-discrimination protection for sex workers, for too long!
• Holding and co-hosting the queer contingent to the October 6 Palestine Action Group rally (and making a new queers for Palestine banner, since we used the previous one from 2023 so much that it became unusable)
• Reclaim and Resist week is fast approaching on the 8th to 11th of October. This is a yearly event put on by WoCo. QuAC is holding a film screening and discussion on sex work, so be sure to come along! More details TBC, so follow do on social media @usydqueer
• Things are ramping up in our campaign for a 24/7 Queerspace.
• Do people read these reports? If so, let us know by DMing us @usydqueer on Instagram
• Big things coming soon.
Social Justice Officers’ Report
Tahlia Arnold, Lauren Finlayson, Reeyaa Agrawal & Simon Uptis
The Social Justice Officers did not submit a report this week.
International Student Officers’ Report
Kejun Liu, Zhongxuan Jiang, Fengxuan Liu & Astrid Xue
The International Student Officers did not submit a report.
International Students: Departing Superanuation (DASP)
What is superannuation?
When you work in Australia, you will often earn superannuation (also known as “super”), which is paid into a “super fund” account by your employer. Superannuation is intended to help people in Australia pay for their retirement; the money in the super fund account is invested and usually you cannot withdraw it.
If you have worked and earned super while visiting Australia on a temporary visa, you can apply to have this super paid to you as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) after you leave.
However, if you have worked and earned super while visiting Australia on a temporary visa, you can apply to have this super paid to you as a departing Australia superannuation payment (DASP) after you leave.
Do I get superannuation?
Under the superannuation guarantee, employers must pay superannuation contributions of 11% of an employee’s ordinary time
earnings if the employee is either 18 years or older, or under 18 years and works over 30 hours a week.
The superannuation guarantee applies to full-time and parttime employees and some casual employees, and includes temporary residents
How can I get the money from my super when I leave Australia?
Generally, you can claim a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) if the following apply:
• you accumulated superannuation while working in Australia on a temporary resident visa issued under the Migration Act 1958 (excluding Subclasses 405 and 410);
• your visa has ceased to be in effect (for example, it has expired or been cancelled);
• you have left Australia and you do not hold any other active Australian visa; and
• you are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or a permanent resident of Australia.
Generally, you can claim a Departing Australia Superannuation Payment (DASP) if conditions are met.
Ask Abe
SRC Caseworker Help Q&A Plagiarism Allegation
Dear Abe, I was really pushed for time, so I used something I found online without putting it in the bibliography. Now I’m in trouble for breaching academic integrity. My friend told me that if I tell them I didn’t mean to do it that I wouldn’t get into trouble. I wanted to check what you thought.
Rushed
Dear Rushed,
The best way to deal with allegations is to be honest. Explain how you wrote the assignment, what parts you took without referencing, and why you did not correctly reference it. The Faculty will consider your explanation of what happened and apply the penalty they feel appropriate. This might be a reprimand, a percentage reduction of marks, a fail (0%) for the assignment, or a fail (0 FA) for the subject. It is a good idea to re-do the Academic Honesty Education Module before going to the meeting to show them that you are serious about not plagiarising in the future.
Abe
If you need help and advice from an SRC Caseworker, start an enquiry here.
bit.ly/contact-a-caseworker
1. A Gastrectomy is the surgical removal of what organ?
2. Dandy Horse, Penny-farthing, and Velocipede are all names for what?
3. This verb, primarily used in fandoms, refers to the desire to see two characters in a romantic relationship.
4. During WW1, the German government issued a diplomatic protest against the American use of which type of weapon?
5. This seabird, recognisable by its feet, is named the blue-footed ‘what’?
6. Which periodic element features in a 1970 Black Sabbath song?
7. Steven King character ‘Pennywise’ is also commonly referred to by what title?
8. The ‘Bloons Tower Defense’ game franchise sees monkeys fighting which enemy?
9. The composition of Iceberg lettuce is approximately 95% what?
10. What connects these answers?
Crossword: Michael Smith.
Dusting off the cobwebs
1954? 1979? Nope, this comic comes from Women’s Honi in 2017! Oh how much has changed ... not!
Connections
Crossword
Across Down
1. Gothic-horror game that’s a spiritual successor to the Dark Souls franchise
11. Adds to one’s Twitter page, briefly
14. One not allowed to be opened, in an iconic 60’s movie scene
15.“Chicago” and “Pretty Woman” star Richard 16. Places where sweaters might hang?
17. Key with the same notes as C Major, in brief
18. Doc’s discipline
19. Heisenberg’s cooking sites
21. Dances that may be accompanied by steel guitar music
24. Scoreboard stats, in brief
25. Weekly Honi Soit offering, say
26. Japanese folkloric demon
27. Makes the connection
29. Algorithmically curated social media feeds, in brief in brief
30. Took too much, in brief
32. Half of an iconic Australian snack name
33. Ancient region that roughly corresponds to the modern-day West Bank
35. National parks, e.g.
39. Adjust one’s sights
40. Quaintly surprised sound
41. Switch forerunner
42. Competition show featuring the “golden buzzer”, in brief
43. Few and far between
46. Superfan
45. When repeated, eating onomatopoeia
48. Like poor chances, it’s said
49. ___ Carta
51. Himalayan Pink, e.g.
53. Word before level or legs
54. Like the transmissions in roughly 98% of Australian cars sold last year, briefly
55. Feature of a bassoon but not a clarinet
60. A part of, as a scheme
61. Suburb that borders USYD’s south side
62. Rhythm arcade game featuring a floor pad with arrows, in brief
63. Surgeon’s asset
1. Some servos
2. Bunch
3. Lines that may form for a well-admired figure?
4. President with an “anger translator,” in a recurring Key and Peele sketch
5. Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, for two
6. Apt last name for an ornithologist?
7. Automotive prefix for -meter
8. Around 20, per the Oxford Dictionary’s definition
9. Perk often advertised in kitchen infomercials
10. Old prefix for “-while”
11. Creating a deluxe edition, say
12. Post-trial event?
13. Picks up
15. Lasses
20. Get in touch with
21. Place for a horseshoe
22. Indie
23. Bad story teller?
24. Toll
27. The world’s most expensive object by weight is one
28.“Only messing with you!”
31. U.S. agency pursuing 19-across
34. Lawn covering, say
36. Actuaries’ concerns
37. Score symbol
38. 2023 Crime thriller “The Last Stop in ___ County”
42. Trembling, say
44. Financially solvent, say
47. Featured singer on The Lonely Island’s “I
Just Had Sex”
49. Word in a kid’s counting game
50. Gruesome cry
52. Figures out a Scrabble score, say
53. Lost friction
56. Filler syllable
57. A cancelled train might push it back, in brief
58. Amount of time it takes to wait for a delayed train, seemingly
59. RPG played on the webseries “Dimension 20”, in brief
Things you can ‘pump’
Always Balanced Coverage
LACK OF QUEER SOCIETIES ON CAMPUS DRIVING MORE AND MORE YOUNG GAY MEN INTO LABOR RIGHT
LATEST
FROM
BELL: “ANU TO BECOME SMALLER UNI ... LIKE REALLY SMALL, SO SMALL I CAN FIT IT IN MY POCKET”
SHOCK WIN! CINEPHILES TO DOMINATE 97TH SRC COUNCIL
In a suprising result for all, ‘Filmbros for SRC’ has secured an enormous majority of seats in the 97th SRC council.
The new faction — representing cinephiles, Fellini fanboys, and various other wankers — sports a variety of unique policies ranging from rehabilitation of Dune (1984) to harsher penalties for student activists protesting Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmography.
It is likely at RepsElect that the faction will push for former FilmSoc President George McMillan to receive the office bearer position of Miami Vice President.
SIX TIPS FOR A LEFT-WING NRL
Watching the NRL Grand Final in the Honi office, I thought to myself: can the NRL be left-wing? I know, I deserve to be in the sin bin, if not reported. Yet Honi has been lacklustre — if not worthy of the wooden spoon — with regard to our sports coverage, and I am going to rectify that.
Besides those playing on the left-wing of the field, can the NRL be left-wing? Here are six (again) propositions on how to do just that:
1. Abolish RSL Clubs - As someone who grew up in RSL Clubs, I’m aware this is controversial. But then again, I don’t think this audience is necessarily reading Honi. I don’t know about you, but the only troops I support are the toy soldiers in Toy Story. Besides, RSL Clubs are less about commemorating the soldiers and more about beers, chicken parmigianas, pokies, SportsBet, doodling on Bingo papers, free water jugs, and raffle prizes.
2. Revive the T3 train line and rename it “Canterbury-Bankstown” - Introducing the Metro is like introducing the Dolphins: look, it’s something new, but wasn’t really necessary. The next time I pass by Belmore Oval, I want to be able to see it and not zoom past it.
3. Merge the West Tigers & Michael West Media - The Concord Centre of Excellence as headquarters for Michael West would be so good. The West Tigers love a man called Michael. Let’s just hope that Mitch Moses doesn’t get blamed again for any changes at the West Tigers: remember, the sea had to be parted, and who knows, the Prodigal son may return someday!
4. Defund Fox Sports - Taking a leaf out of Reform USyd’s handbook, I want to defund the media. Who needs a pay-to-watch service anyways? I personally don’t want to listen to Braith Anasta’s voice ever again, and I only hear him when I’m at an RSL Club (see dot point 1).
5. Free game tickets for all & decriminalise pokies - If Russell Crowe can save the Rabbitohs, I think Gladiator should fund the game so us mere mortals can actually attend matches again. While he is at it, bring back Macklemore to headline next year’s Grand Final, or perhaps invite Kesha, because that would be based af. Oh, did I forget to talk about decriminalising pokies? I just thought it would sound cool.
6. Defeat the salary CAPs - Like the Campus Access Policy, salary caps are here to stay. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and Rugby League Players Association (RLPA) have joined forces to take down those who seek to curb freedom of speech and free trade. Thy will be done, on the field, as it is on Twitter.
A special mention goes out the relics of NRL past, the lore-makers, the Winston Churchill medallists: ‘Where you from’s’ very own Beau Ryan, the ever-so dilapidated Leichhardt Oval, the Gold Coast Titans (you may not be everyone’s favourite but you could never hurt a fly), Cam Smith the player, Cam Smith the referee, Sky News’ Erin Molen, and Brad Fittler’s coaching career (I say this with love, Freddy). I love rugby league. And it is the NRL, not the NUS (pink ballot), for good reason.
No persons, organisations or entities were intended to be offended by this comedy piece. I am a die-hard NRL fan: up the mighty Panthers!
— Resident NRL Fanatic, Valerie Chidiac