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
Charlie Crawford
Josephine Lee
Marlow Hurst
Veronica Lenard
Ella McGrath
Kiah Nanavati
Imogen Sabey
Charlotte Saker
Miya Sywak
Ally Pitt
Kate Zhang
Airlie Cullen
Isla Mowbray
Shania O’Brien
Sachi Pirola
Crossword
Michael
Cover Art
Anthony-James Kanaan
Editorial
Ariana Haghighi
“Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the campus offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild ibis, harsh and exciting–over and over announcing your place in the family of SSAF-funded things.”
— Mary Oliver, “Wild Ibis”
It’s embarrassing to admit, but I haven’t felt loneliness quite like I did this year.
Nursing a broken heart, I left my job and my university cohort to slave away at the terrible two: Honi and Honours. Things at home erupted and I couldn’t use the correct language to talk about it for far too long. I used to order books to a fellow editor’s house, because at times I didn’t know where I’d be living in a fortnight. It hit me all at once and I felt lonely.
At the closing night of the Student Journalism Conference, I gave a speech about how much it all meant to me. I toiled away on the notes app, desperate to convey my gratitude. I somehow also planned to ruin everyone’s evening by delivering a navel-gazing lament on how lonely life can feel.
But as I scrolled to that section of my speech, I looked into the audience and suddenly felt very stupid. Making eye contact with my exquisite Honi team, university friends who sacrificed their mid-semester break to support their friend who went stujo-mad, and new friends who had travelled across the country to tend to a stujo dream, I felt very, very stupid. I was not lonely at all. I was surrounded by the loveliest visionaries and creators.
Though access to campus culture is uneven and runs on class, gendered and racial lines, it buoys us more than we realise. We meet lifelong friends at society events, we debrief over Courtyard Café pasta specials, we learn about each other by reading the student newspaper. So many students don’t know what the Student Services Amenities Fee (SSAF) they pay actually funds. In an indirect way, SSAF serves as salves to our loneliness, if we know where to look.
I don’t feel a skerrick of loneliness when I leaf through this edition. AnthonyJames Kanaan appealed to my cartoonishly-loving heart with the cover. Canberra correspondents Charlie Crawford and Ally Pitt take a cross-campus approach to SSAF and the campus novel genre respectively. Marlow Hurst and I trawl through Honi ticket stunts past. Imogen Sabey scans lesbian invisibility in the print archives. Shania O’Brien, Isla Mowbray and Airlie Cullen perfect the edition with beautiful illustrations, and Sachi Pirola looks at campus from a different lens.
Huw, Valerie, Aidan, Victoria, Angus, Zeina, Amelia, Sandra and Simone, there’s not a Sunday where I wish I was anywhere else but in the office, laughing and gossiping and drinking bubble tea, with you all.
My mum and I linger a little longer around the breakfast table each morning. The orange stray cat kisses my ankles on my walk home. The red fur of banksia sprouts on the tree. When I sit on the swings, the wind rushes into my face as quickly as it pulls away.
We are in good company.
Vigil one year on Protestors arrested at WSU 4
SSAF allocation across campuses
Interviewing 1978’s SRC President SSAF at SUPRA Honi ticket stunts Inaccessibility of campus culture
ISSN: 2207-5593. This edition was published on Wednesday 16 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.
News
What’s on?
Cartoon caption contest
Cartoon: Airlie Cullen
Winner’s caption
Winner’s reward “Fuck, now everyone’s going to think we arrived together”. — Jonathan Roman
Two men flew up high in the night, Each in rockets, a funny sight.
One said with a frown, “Now the word’s out in town, They’ll all think we’re flying in tight!”
‘A Background in Debating’
Thursday 17
Booker Magazine Issue #004 Launch Party @ 7pm, Alpha Gallery
Friday 18
STACCATO, garage gallery @ 6pm, Stucco Newtown
Saturday 19
Banner Paint @ 1pm, Eastern Avenue
Sunday 20
Weekly Rally for Palestine @ 1pm Hyde Park — See Palestine Action Group instagram for further details
Ongoing
National Week of Action by ACAR, Film screening, webinar on scholasticide, Student Strike @ University of Sydney Camperdown campus
Honi Soit ’s statement on Israel’s violent attacks in Gaza and Lebanon
At the time of writing this statement, all forms of communication from Palestinians in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza have gone completely silent.
Palestinians in Jabalia are being subjected to a siege and a starvation campaign while being completely surrounded by Israeli occupation forces.
Lebanon, Israel’s second front, has witnessed nonstop daily attacks, including the massacre in central Beirut when Israel attempted to assassinate a Hezbollah liaison officer.
Airstrikes have continued in the Bekaa Valley to the north and in cities like Nabatieh in the south.
Peacekeepers partaking in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon are also being targeted.
More than one year on, Israel is doubling down in its efforts to achieve its military, economic and ideological goals: the genocide of Palestinians and moving closer to a ‘Greater Israel’ that extends beyond the Litani River.
From Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning Lebanese people that they “have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza” we are seeing a warning of what may come next as a result of Israel being rewarded with full impunity.
Honi Soit reiterates 374 days worth of calls for a ceasefire, 76 years of calls for a free Palestine, and an end to the war in Lebanon.
October 7 vigil commemorates the fallen martyrs in Palestine and Lebanon
Zeina Khochaiche
On October 7, the Palestine Action Group organised a candlelight vigil to mourn 12 months of death and devastation in Gaza and commemorate the martyrs fallen in Palestine and Lebanon.
The vigil included multifaith prayers from Muslim, Jewish and Christian speakers, speeches from Lebanese activists, live traditional resistance anthems and demonstrations.
At the beginning of the vigil, the chairperson asked attendees to take a seat and hold their candles in their lap, forming a crowd of a few thousand. They also warned protesters to comply and stay within the police ring to “not engage or submit to provocation”.
Like the October 6 protest which saw hundreds of thousands in attendance, the police presence was extensive. The forces formed a ring around the vigil with the mounted unit, horseback officers and the same electronic police message board on display.
The chairperson then reiterated the loss of Palestinian life, citing it as the “worst genocide of modern history” and calling upon those “living in diaspora is to normalise resistance”.
An Armenian-Jewish speaker from the Tzedek collective performed a moving recount of growing up “with the accepting, loving, warm Judaism my grandparents raised me with”.
“Most disgustingly, we have Israeli politicians calling for another Nakba. A word meaning catastrophe in Arabic. Same as the word used in Hebrew for the Holocaust” the speaker said.
“I am descendants of the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide.
I have heard of these experiences. To the Jewish people out there who know there is something deeply wrong. I call you to cast off this fear. There is a place with you here. Stand with us. I invite you to forge a new path. Forging a path for what is right”, he concluded.
Met with unanimous applause and support from the attendees, the chairperson thanked the speaker and turned attention to the frontline workers and journalists. “[We] need to be the voices of the beaten and the murdered, the voices of the angels [...] our healthcare workers on the ground in Palestine and Lebanon.”
“We are thankful for independent media. We are thankful for media outlets like Al Jazeera who have lost countless journalists over the last months” she continued.
Mentions of martyrs in Yemen were also commemorated following ongoing episodes of aggression from Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.
The vigil also included live Lebanese and Palestinian liberation songs, [trying to find name] sung with lyrics appearing on the back of the screen.
A live demonstration of individuals covered in blood and bandages approached the chairperson and stood in front of the vigil, “We are proud of our people and of our freedom fight and their strength and resilience.”
The vigil concluded with a call to action for next week’s protest and for the movement at large,
“No matter how long it takes we will free Palestine we will free Lebanon.”
Students arrested at Western Sydney University during Palestine protest
Ella McGrath
Two students were arrested at a proPalestine rally on the Parramatta South campus of Western Sydney University for allegedly assaulting campus security.
There were an estimated 50 protesters in attendance when, at around 11:20 AM, police approached the crowd to make the first arrest.
Footage of one of the arrests uploaded to the WSU 4 Palestine Instagram page shows six officers apprehending a single protester wearing a red keffiyeh. The protester was carried out of the building as a further two armed officers out of uniform told onlookers outside the building to stay back. Students are heard in the footage saying: “they are tackling a student,” while asking the plainclothes officers: “aren’t you going to do anything?” In the footage, five police officers can be seen carrying a student out of the building, one forcefully grabbing them by the hair.
Professor Alana Lentin, an
One year of genocide, 52 weeks of Palestine rallies in Sydney
Valerie Chidiac
academic at Western Sydney University specialising in cultural and social analysis, is also recorded as she repeatedly tells officers “leave my students alone”.
When an officer ordered Lentin and the protestors to vacate the building, stating “[failure] to comply means you’re committing an offence,” Lentin responded by stating “this is my place of work” and “this is a public building.”
Ryde Police Area Command released the following statement: “[At] about 11.20am, two protesters were arrested after allegedly assaulting campus security. As police were arresting the pair, one allegedly assaulted and resisted police.”
Both students, a male aged 24 and a male aged 21, were taken to Gladesville Police Station.
Before arrests were made, Police allegedly attempted to confiscate a banner that was hung outside Building EB, reading “Haniyeh’s Building”.
Eight candidates vie for Senate position in crowded race
Angus McGregor
The election for the University of Sydney Senate’s undergraduate fellow is underway, with eight candidates taking part. Student’s options range from from Liberal and Labor SRC Councillors to a range of faculty and society representatives. In a crowded field, Honi Soit interviewed six candidates to understand their policy priorities and what makes them stand out.
Many of the candidates already have experience in University governance. Current president of the Cheerleading Society, Emily Skipper, already serves on the Senate as the student representative for Sydney Uni Sports and Fitness (SUSF). Miesha Noor and Satvik Sharma (Liberal) have both served on the Academic Board and Alexander Poirier (Unity), in his role as President of the Conservatorium Students Association also sits on the Con’s board.
That experience may give them a head start when faced with the mountain of bureaucracy that is the Senate. Document packs can be hundreds of pages long, let alone the drafting of your own proposals. Skipper pointed to her experience advising the Senate on SUSF’s ten year plan for sport and facilities development and Poirier said that his discussions with the Student Life team afforded the Con a new shuttle bus to the main campus.
The difficulty of affordable housing close to campus faced by undergraduate students was an issue multiple candidates raised as being a priority. Noor pointed out that there are “buildings that are not being utilised 80% of the time,” and former SYNCS Treasurer Angus O’Grady agreed, highlighting that International House, which used to house hundreds of students, remains in planning limbo. It’s unlikely a Senate fellow could pressure the University to invest in enough beds to solve the problem but in the context of the international student caps, acquiring more student accommodation is becoming a commercial priority.
“Challenge the billionaires who hold power, and stop genocide”: Protest at the US Consulate
Charlotte Saker
After Israel’s invasion into Lebanon, Palestine Action Group took to Miller Street at North Sydney to protest the US consulate and their complicity in funding Israel’s deadly campaign. Nine police were stationed outside the US consulate, while other constables stood around the corner, and squad cars were parked nearby. Protesters were prohibited from marching through North Sydney and would be arrested by police if done so.
Jasmine Al-Rawi, convenor of
Poirier’s policy platform is by far the most ambitious, with ideas ranging from completely reforming student representation including automatically making the SRC President the undergraduate fellow, creating a new Faculty of Fine Arts, and removing all OLE and interdisciplinary units. He conceded this was less a roadmap for a two year term and more “a long term what I would like to see,” and conceded “there was a little bit of hesitancy,” even among other student organisations for what he was proposing.
However, Poirier does have a track record of effectively pressuring student bodies to become more progressive. When he served on the USU Board, he successfully pushed for period products to be placed in all the USU operated bathrooms. When asked how he would convince a University under budget pressure to make commitments, Poirier said that there was tons of outsourcing that could be reigned in. “I really hate consultancy fees,” and there may be some “leadership positions that are not providing much value.”
The continued fight over five day simple extensions was again a buzzword, with every candidate knowing this is a winner with the student body. How they would go about defending this holy grail revealed important differences in how candidates wanted to work with management.
Ned Graham (NLS) said the success of last year’s petition was evidence that the fellow should be working closely with the SRC to pressure management. “We have to build movements,” he said. He argued the fellow should lead that movement and if simple extensions were threatened, “we will sustain the effort.” “We will raise it again and again,” he said.
Sharma, who claims to have saved simple extensions by splitting a motion at the Academic Board last year (a claim that is disputed), took a less oppositional approach to management. He said the role had to
Students for Palestine at University of Sydney, led the protest with an evocative call to action, highlighting the USA’s imperialistic connections to Israel and calling them out as “the real terrorists”. Speakers were encouraged to stand on the tattered American flag, looking toward the Consulate’s windows which were boarded-up with wooden panels.
UNSW student activist Jamie Tyres declared that there are “no red lines” for allies of American imperialism, criticising Netanyahu’s aims to “see Beirut look like Rafa and Lebanon to look like Gaza.”
Student activist Yasmina Henry spoke about growing up in Beirut. “A city that on most nights smells like Jasmine,” now tragically “suffocated by the stench of ammonia, burnt flesh and destruction.”
Henry shared her outrage over
“hold management to account” but “in a cooperative way.” He argued that, as a fellow, you “don’t want to create a rift between the student fellows and management.”
Making the University more inclusive to low socioeconomic status (SES) and rural students by expanding scholarships was a down to earth idea that may be less on the radar for most students but is equally if not more important. Graham wants to double the number of MySydney scholarships, which currently only account for 10% of scholarship payments. “We need to make sure we don’t have a two tiered uni system,” he said, highlighting that many students who get into USyd have to decline the offer due to cost. Noor also wants to put more scholarship money towards disadvantaged students. She argued that scholarships should not be seen by management as solely “for the purpose of attraction” but to make the campus more accessible.
Even when students arrive on campus, Noor argued, finding the correct support services was challenging. “I don’t know where to start,” she lamented when asked about University bureaucracy. She is proposing a centralised search engine to help students find the correct place to go as opposed to being constantly redirected by the SRC or Student Centre.
These small fixes, what O’Grady called “day to day problems” became easy pickings for the candidates to generate policy ideas. O’Grady is advocating for a Canvas module to help students with public transport timetables, improvement to lighting on campus, and a review of how the University charges students for parking. Whether these are student priorities (Google Maps may suffice) is unclear, but it certainly speaks to a consistent view that the University is an inefficient behemoth.
Sharma’s signature idea is to improve transparency by giving all students a breakdown of where their Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF) and course fees go. In the context of increasing HECS debt and the exorbitant fees international students are charged, he said “it was a legitimate thing to ask.” The University
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, noting that just two nights ago, Israeli airstrikes struck the central neighbourhood in Beirut, only 10 minutes from her former school, resulting in 22 deaths and 117 injuries.
Henry concluded with an urgent call for mobilisation, to dismantle the “imperialist, capitalist system,” that puts “profit above human lives.”
Students for Palestine advocate, Yoshi Leung, followed with a powerful speech addressing Biden’s hypocrisy.
In the light of recent Hurricanes in Florida, Leung highlighted that there were “over 21,000 people” in the path of the hurricanes whose evacuation was not assisted because it was “too expensive.” Meanwhile, the US has sent “$26 billion” to fund Israel’s campaign in the past year.
Leung ignited cheers from the crowd when they declared, “Biden fills
sector “is a market,” he argued and “if you show the fees are being spent in a good way,” students will have confidence in the University. Whether the University will show their card’s is unclear, but it’s hard to argue against more transparency.
When pressed on more politically divisive questions like whether they supported the new Campus Access Policy, which cracks down on student protests, or if they wanted the University to divest from weapons companies, most of the candidates gave vague or cagey answers.
Skipper, who sat in on some discussion about the Gaza solidarity encampment, said it was “such a complicated situation,” and when pressed on the CAP would only go as far as saying it is “a bit of an attack on the student’s free speech.” O’Grady said he was “not a very political person” and on divestment left almost everything on the table with the general principle that investments should be made “in an ethical and sustainable manner.” Noor was even more diplomatic, refusing the comment further than saying the University “should be supporting students and their academic requirements.”
Both Labor candidates, Graham and Poirier, were exceptions, making abolishing the CAP and divestment explicit in their platforms. Graham said the CAP was “part of a broader disdain for the student voice.” On divestment, Poirier has made applying BDS principles to the University a priority and said now was the chance to “go in firmly” because management was “aware they need to have these discussions.”
Sharma also refused to comment on divestment, saying he would await the recommendations of the working group, but was more supportive of the CAP saying the policy should “balance the needs of free speech with the student experience and making campus safe.” He said he heard from Jewish students that the encampment made them “feel violently upset” and alleged “anti-semitic rhetoric” was common.
Voting links have been sent to all postgraduate students via email and will remain open until October 24th.
the barrel and tells Netanyahu to take his aim.”
Greens Inner West Councillor Izabella Antoniou called for Albanese to end the two way arms deal between Australia and Israel, emphasising that Australia’s place in AUKUS makes us “an extension of the US military system,” that foolishly funds Israel’s “human rights abuses,” amidst the cost of living crisis.
Concluding the protest, Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees highlighted the brutality of the American empire and the potential return of Donald Trump after witnessing “four years of what the Democrats have to offer, which is pretty much the same.” He emphasised the need to confront the system to “end wars, challenge the billionaires who hold power, and stop genocide.”
Getting closer: How SUPRA initiatives help postgraduate students
Kate Zhang analyses.
Wine and cheese parties, free lunch events, hiking trips, movie nights, and the fitness program — you might be surprised that clubs and societies do not organise these. They are SUPRA initiatives.
I spoke to SUPRA officers to find out how SSAF was spent. What emerged was an interesting blend of the SRC and USU. Funding for direct activism is rare, but the funding of social events often creates a platform for change.
One of the SUPRA Co-presidents Vivian Bai said student engagement and wellbeing are the main focus of SUPRA SSAF applications.
Bai said those five regular events above were the “pillars of SUPRA’s community engagement”.
SUPRA Education Officer
Weihong Liang said many postgraduate students come from overseas. They often face more challenges in accommodation and employment, so they need more support from their student association.
“For example, some international students did their previous degrees [at] universities that provide on-campus accommodation for all students. They never rented a room before — and then suddenly, they drop into the renting market,” Liang said.
Liang said international students have to rebuild their connections when previous ones in their home country are cut off. Cultural barriers, distance from families, and time differences don’t make things easier.
Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students are also vulnerable to social isolation. Bai said it was also a top priority to offer them engagement activities and workshops to provide space away from their academic work.
“HDR students, immersed in
intensive research programs, often work in isolation and may lack regular opportunities to interact with peers or participate in broader university life, ” she said.
‘Supervisor of The Year’ is one of the SUPRA’s current initiatives to enhance “HDR students’ sense of belonging by acknowledging their close academic mentors”.
HDR students are encouraged to act as nominators and judges of this award. There will also be a party held for students to celebrate with the winners.
Bai said SUPRA community engagement events can provide an inclusive space for students to connect and share solutions to common challenges from their similar experiences.
“An HDR student struggling with their thesis may meet a peer who has already navigated similar challenges, while an international student may find a mentor who can offer insights into balancing studies with the practicalities of living abroad,” she said.
Liang said the events are also channels for SUPRA student representatives to communicate directly with postgraduate students, asking if they need help, and offering suggestions.
“All the events are gathering students into a space for some time, making it easier for everyone to communicate with each other. Then, our student representatives can participate in the activities and reach out to students,” Liang said.
“Most of the student representatives come to SUPRA to work for a better student life. They have a feeling of mission and urgency, because they’re suffering the same problems too. So naturally, they stay close to the other students.”
Other than the five regular events, Bai said SUPRA was also considering increasing the scope and visibility of their Social Impact Grant scheme.
“Social Impact Grant was introduced in 2023, and has continued to thrive in 2024 due to significant student engagement,” she said.
SUPRA supported 13 projects last semester, including “A Bridge Between Cultures: refugee experiences in focus”, “Sumatran Dance Workshop” and “HDR Journal Club Wellness Session”.
Bai said equity networks are also constantly supported by SUPRA. SUPRA Women’s Officer Yiman Wu hosted a DIY workshop in August for female students to make bracelets. She plans to hold another workshop this month.
Through distributing surveys and talking to students during the event, she found that many female students feel unsafe walking on campus at night. She plans to work with other student representatives to push the installation of more street lights on campus.
“Events like this provide an inclusive and safe space for us to communicate with each other,” Wu said.
Bai argues that SUPRA and other student-led organisations deserve more funding to ensure decisions are “driven by student needs rather than institutional pressures”.
“Additional funding would enable SUPRA to maintain its autonomy, ensuring it can continue to advocate for students without relying on university resources or approval, which could limit its capacity to challenge policies when necessary,” she said.
By reaching out to students through the events, SUPRA communicates with students directly, gathers student voices, and uses them to negotiate with the University or other institutes.
The Fair Fares campaign, which demands travel concessions for all students, is an example where putting students together socially sparked something larger. Bai said students openly discussed the challenges regarding public transport costs at events like the wine and cheese parties.
“Because of the feedback we received at social events, we decided to put in our full efforts by setting up stalls, promoting the petition across campus, and travelling to other universities,” she said.
“SUPRA provides a direct line of communication between the student body and decision-makers,” Bai said.
More funding can also allow SUPRA to launch more initiatives benefiting students such as the food pantry, and push more changes to deal with cost of living, accommodation, and other issues that postgraduate students actually concern.
Disclaimer: Kate Zhang is a member of SUPRA.
IstheBudget’sSSAF mandate too much of a good thing?
Charlie Crawford opines.
The 2024-25 Federal Budget, and the preceding Universities Accord (Student Support and Other Measures) Bill 2024, aim to introduce a requirement for universities to allocate a minimum of 40% of the Students Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) they collect to student-led organisations.
SSAF was introduced by the Gillard government in 2011, allowing universities to charge an additional fee paid semesterly and distribute this funding (more or less) however they see fit.
University executives are the sole arbiter as to the proportion of this funding to be allocated to Student unions and organisations — if they even decide to fund them at all.
In the pre-2006 golden age of Compulsory Student Unionism, students were required to pay membership fees directly to their union, and this expenditure was not bound by the restrictions now present in current SSAF legislation. Now instead of this, the money our unions receive to support both service provision and student activism must first pass through an institution in which the union is often advocating against — the instability of such a system is obvious from a mile away.
This history would lead us to believe that the proposed 40% minimum requirement is nothing but a step in the right direction. Mandated and stable money in student hands can only be a good thing, right? I suspect there will be more to the story.
Most universities across Australia don’t currently struggle to meet this 40% requirement, based on their 2023 SSAF reports. The University of Sydney performs the best, allocating 84% across four student run organisations (Student Representative Council, University of Sydney Union, Sydney University Postgraduate Association and Sydney University Sport & Fitness). The Australian National University (ANU) allocates 61% to student-led organisations with the University of Technology of Sydney (UTS) following at 53%, the University of Melbourne at 49.9%, and the University of Queensland at 44.8%. The remaining money at each institution is typically allocated to other student services and support offered by universities such as orientation programs, libraries, and careers.
A conclusion that this 40% requirement would therefore have a negligible impact on these student organisations, however, would be far too hasty. There’s an argument to be made that this requirement will in fact have a backwards effect on the ‘most stable’ of unions.
As Honi Soit’s self-titled ANU correspondent, I can point to how ANU’s recent SSAF history helps us understand the fragile situation in which student associations across the nation remain. ANU’s Postgraduate and Research Students Association (PARSA) dissolved in 2023 following years of mismanagement, with all students now represented by the ANU Students Association (ANUSA). Following the merger last year, ANUSA was allocated PARSA’s remaining
funding, but this did not continue into the new year. Two unions which in 2022 received a total allocation of 69%, are now represented by the one with only 55%.
ANU also allocates SSAF to two student media organisations: 4% to Woroni and 2% to ANU Observer. Whilst ANU has signed on to threeyear funding arrangements with both ANUSA and Woroni, meaning the annual percentage that each organisation is allocated is confirmed until 2026, they have not done so with ANU Observer
One needs only to look at the experience of the editors at the UTS paper Vertigo to gain insight into potentially forecasted instability. In 2022, UTS management refused to allocate funding to the UTS Student Association (UTSSA) unless Vertigo’s budget was halved. It is clear the ANU is already positioning itself to make similar moves, with Observer’s September OGM reports not shying away from recognition that their continued funding remains in jeopardy. Luckily for ANUSA, student media at ANU is independent from the union and they will face no such coercion. The luck runs out there though, as it is becoming increasingly clear ANU is willing to whittle away at student organisation SSAF in any way that they can. USyd remains in a similar position, with funding for student publications Honi Soit and PULP relying on consistent funding being directed to their student unions, the SRC and the USU respectively.
This is all to say, university administrations already keep shifting
the boundaries on what SSAF they are willing to allocate. Unions and other student organisations working within an increasingly corporatized tertiary education system being annually required to advocate for their own funding and engage in utilitarian criticism of their expenditure has already proven to be a difficult and futile battle. It is entirely possible that the 40% requirement is taken by universities as a mandate to provide nothing more — it becomes a ceiling, not a floor. Only time will tell whether this author’s speculation is true, as universities currently remain in discussions to confirm their 2025 SSAF allocations sometime later this year.
Pessimism aside, there are still plenty of universities that stand to benefit from these requirements. University of NSW falls just shy of the requirements currently allocating 37% to their union, Macquarie University allocating 11%, the University of Canberra a mere 7%, and the University of Notre Dame have only introduced SSAF this year. There is no doubt that the 40% minimum will strengthen the unions in these universities and mandate a greater level of accountability for university administration to report on where exactly their SSAF funding has been going otherwise.
“A time of agitating for change”: Interview with 1978 SRC President Barbara Ramjan OAM
Renowned as a robust, strong, and ever-rambunctious student union, the SRC at Sydney University has provided legal, social, and welfare support to students for decades, and is now funded by the infamous Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF). When the EIC for this edition prescribed the theme, “your SSAF at work,” a focus on the SRC’s past came to mind.
Not long after, I thought to contact Barbara Ramjan: SRC President of 1978, serving her term at the end of a decade marked by massive shifts in student activism: the Land Rights movement, anti-war sentiment, feminist action, as well as myriad campus campaigns, following monumental changes in the schools of Political Economy and Philosophy.
Barbara’s career has been underpinned by service to the community, in roles such as Guardian ad Litem in NSW Courts and Tribunals, and Co-founder of the Community Rowing Club and Balmain Para-Rowing Program. Her SRC tenure as the first woman elected president covered various issues impacting the community. She cited “uranium mining, land rights, gay rights, childcare, education, student support, sexism on campus, the colleges,” as some of the defining issues of her term.
The SRC
When asked about the SRC in 1978, Barbara said, “Uni was so politically active in the 70s. You know, whether it was the Vietnam moratorium, whether it was land rights… It was a really interesting time of agitating for change, because there were so many areas to change.”
She noted that SRC Office Bearer roles were entirely unpaid positions, demonstrating how much the SRC has grown and shifted as a student union, with only the office staff and a legal aid lawyer paid by the SRC in 1978. Today, some Office Bearers receive a salary while Honi Editors split a stipend.
And as for the president’s relationship with Honi in 1978? “Well, there wasn’t censorship,” she said.
78ers
A defining moment while Barbara was president were the Gay and Lesbian liberation protests conducted in 1978, which attracted large contingents of Sydney University students, or as we now know this cohort: the 78ers.
“As the President, my responsibility was, and it’s probably the same with you, because I don’t think this part of the Constitution would’ve changed, [...] I was responsible for ‘the undergraduate students, [and] their health and welfare.’”
She told me that as President, “if a student was arrested, you were responsible for their health and wellbeing, therefore you would be bailing them out. And so I had, in anticipation of that happening, money ready, if it was needed, to bail the students out.”
“The question I always had to ask was, ‘are you a student at Sydney University?’ And if they said yes, then my obligation was to bail them [out].”
The 1978 protesters were frequently charged under the Summary Offences Act which was repealed in May 1979. Barbara recounted how “the Summary Offences Act was still in place at that point, and there was a bit of a joke amongst students and unionists: you get arrested and you get what we called the trifecta: ‘resist arrest, assault police, unseemly words…’ Everyone got the three charges, and it was the trifecta.”
“The sergeant was really silly in many respects. ‘Well, well’ he said, leaning back, arms crossed. ‘[The bail] isn’t going to be $25 a head,’ which it normally was. ‘It’ll be $50.’ And so I leaned forward with a bit of a smile and put my little paper bag on the counter. ‘That’s fine, I have $5,000, let’s go.’ This standoff went to one o’clock.”
The saga continued until an older cop barged in: ‘What’s going on in my police station?’
“I say, ‘I’m here to bail them out.’ ‘Why isn’t the little girl able to bail them out?’ I loved it when they used to call me the little girl.”
“And then they started to let me bail them out.”
Barbara spoke of the brutality against protesters in 1978: “A very good friend of mine was arrested… really badly beaten, and the police wouldn’t release him from the cell… [Until] a particular doctor who was at RPA, who knew him, and knew the group, went down and said he needed to see him because of his medical condition, and they got him straight out in an ambulance.”
“He was brutalised, and even to this day, [he is] a very gentle man… He would never hurt a fly”.
Reproductive rights
When asked about the push for reproductive rights, Barbara told me that “it’s really interesting looking back on it now, because [the motion] was so mild.”
Barbara spoke to the motion made by the Australian Union of Students (AUS), the predecessor to the National Union of Students (NUS) that we elect delegates to today.
“Being a member of AUS…all the universities and campuses had to vote on the policy. And every campus had to have a vote by a particular time. So at Sydney Uni, we held a front lawn meeting to vote on the motion. I don’t think you have Front Lawn meetings anymore, do you?” (No, we don’t…) “All the major meetings were on the Front Lawn. It was the largest I can recall from the time I was there. We had approximately 3,000 students.”
“It was a very difficult meeting, it was hard to keep control [...], if there was too much cat-calling, if you couldn’t hear what was happening, I would adjourn.”
“Certainly the AUS motion passed, [and] Sydney University was in favour. And it was as, I don’t remember the wording of it, but it was as mild as perhaps a woman’s right to choose. It was not a dramatic motion.”
Student Welfare
In a time where campaigning looked like chalking on Eastern Avenue instead of election messages on Facebook, and events would be held at the Tin Sheds as opposed to the Lord Gladstone, the University had a long way to go in terms of student welfare, and support for disability and mental health schemes.
Barbara explained: “I remember being contacted by the doctor from Student Health in the early 70s who told me, ‘we have to do something: I am sick of being called out to students that have committed suicide after exams or before exams, and we have to do something. We have to.’ And in those days, if you had an anxiety issue or, [...] a physical disability where you could not write within the limited time, you had no alternative.”
The concessions for students with disabilities were abysmal. “There was nothing. There was absolutely nothing. You just could not get any recognition that there was that sort of need. And
[student health] worked really hard.”
It seems Barbara and Student Health’s push for this support set the foundations for the current special considerations system we know today: “he wanted to set up a safe space where you could do your exam under monitored conditions. If the exam was one hour, then you would have one and a half or two hours.”
In the midst of the fight for student support, Barbara was at the forefront for pushing for accessible childcare for students at USyd, which saw the inception of a Childcare Co-op for the student community:
“...It was a different time. You didn’t have childcare, for example.
The [student] union didn’t have any co-op, so we went to a union meeting, myself and two others, and the two others had a child that needed some [care] because they’re both students.”
Barbara spoke to how the student union at the time struggled to see this as a tangible issue. “The union wasn’t really interested in looking at that,” Barbara said, due to a narrative that “you’re not at uni if you have kids.”
After these efforts, “there was a house discovered in Glebe that was empty and taken over, and it became the Shubunkin Children’s Co-Op… The parents there all did shifts, and so it kind of worked.”
There are now several childcare services advertised by the uni, but none akin to the community co-op system that existed in 1978. In fact, childcare services received $0 of SSAF allocation by the University in 2024.
When asked about what she thought to be the fondest memories or achievements of her tenure, she noted that she wouldn’t talk of her biggest achievements, and instead spoke to her “good memories [of] the small role that [she] might have had in helping to set up the childcare co op, the 78ers, stuff like that.”
As a new crop of office-bearers prepare to be picked in RepsElect this month, Honi hopes that principles of social justice, left-wing values and “[responsibility] for the undergraduate students, [and] their health and welfare,” are championed by our next cohort of leaders with the tenacity of Barbara Ramjan in 1978.
Amelia Raines interviews.
I’m running for Honi and would love your vote
Back in the times of contested Honi Soit elections, tickets would fight tooth and nail to win the editorship of USyd’s much lauded student newspaper. While employing the usual tactics of Eastern Avenue walks and talks and chalks, or using the photocopier to produce a hot flurry of posters and flyers, Honi hopefuls sometimes resorted to more unorthodox approaches to capture voter attention. Welcome to the world of Honi Soit campaign stunts.
The last genuine Honi campaign stunt came from a likely place: a joke ticket. The year was 2018, and what could have been an uncontested breeze for favourites Spice for Honi turned into a begrudging democratic contest as they faced double-bill joke tickets Honey Soy and Pictures of Spider-Man for Honi. And Pictures of Spider-Man for Honi went all out. Campaigning on Eastern Avenue dressed as Daily Bugle EIC J. Jonah Jameson — suspenders, cigar, and moustache all present — ticket members brashly demanded pictures of Spider-Man from any and all passers by. They took it up a notch at the debate in Hermanns, where a friend of the campaign interrupted the proceedings dressed as Spider-Man and a chase ensued. Good, harmless, narrativised stuff!
That’s all expected behaviour from a joke ticket perhaps, but those sorts of shenanigans have been present in many of the more serious Honi tickets as well, perhaps a product of the evocative, oneword ticket naming convention that has dominated Honi campaigns for decades now.
2012 victors Jam for Honi famously constructed an oversized jam-red cake that accompanied the ticket on the hustings. Students were encouraged to take photos with it and even on it (“I took a photo on the Jamcitadel and lived”), making it a centrepiece of their ultimately victorious campaign. They also played musical instruments on Eastern Avenue and the Law Lawns to attract attention, live audio-blogging all their antics.
Similar set pieces featured in a number of other modern Honi campaigns as well. Zoo for Honi (2011) built a makeshift animal cage and treated Eastern Avenue as their stage for a ‘Just Can’t Wait to be King.’ Sex for Honi (2013) acquired a suggestive mattress. And Evil for Honi (2013 again) created a ghoulish campaign HQ off the Law Lawns. Beat for Honi (2012) dressed a member in a polar bear costume to run up and down Eastern Avenue and blasted Azealia Banks.
Sometimes, unoriginal campaigners would reproduce the stunts of successful forebears: but the archive remembers! In 2019, Cream for Honi littered Eastern Avenue with newspaper-looking corflutes reading: “The Daily Cream: Special Place in Hell Announced for Stupol Campaigners”. In 2015, Scoop for Honi mastered the masthead corflute: “The Daily Scoop: Satan: “Even I think student politics is unethical””.
Much of what we know about the Honi campaigns of the 2010s onwards come from their Facebook pages, Wordpress sites, and the occasional YouTube channel. Invaluable resources for recollecting the history of Honi Soit campaigning, sadly many have been erased from history, likely due to the embarrassment of the candidates’ future selves.
Like all things USyd, things were a little wilder in the 90s and beyond. As current Federal cabinet minister Andrew Leigh recalled in his University of Canberra ‘Challenge Your Mind’ lecture, a member of his 1992 Naked Truth ticket secured the votes of a group of medical students by streaking naked through a lecture hall (living up to the ticket name).
Perhaps less salaciously, 1991’s Headlions ticket dressed up in fuzzy lion costumes to win the hearts and minds of voters: singing their own version of ‘The
Is the University of Sydney’s campus culture inclusive of Western Sydney?
Josephine Lee walks the Sydney divide.
Clubs and societies are known for being the place to make friends, share niche interests, or work on various wild projects with people you would have never met in high school. However, for Western Sydney students, they seem to be a place often far out of reach.
“Sometimes it can feel hostile to Western Sydney peeps,” said Natarina Ramdhana, who commutes from Blacktown; a trip which takes 1.5 – 2 hours.
“There is a cultural divide in Sydney. I do find that I have to fight for people in the West,” said Alessia Poles, current Marketing and Communication officer of the Sydney University Italian Society. Poles told Honi that her commute from Fairfield takes roughly 1hr and 10 minutes.
“There was a rally on campus about the housing prices and people being like ‘We have to go find places as far as Bankstown!’ And I’m like ‘Wow, I’ve been born in Sydney, I’ve lived here my whole life and I live further than Bankstown,’” she said.
The sidelining of Western Sydney students in campus culture fuels the inaccessibility of C&S events, such as late night events, frequently held in the Inner West which can be difficult
to access via public transport.
Poles struggled to attend such events in her first year, making it harder to make friends due to her public transport options ending earlier in the night. “Otherwise, you’re paying an expensive Uber,” she stated. “After midnight, if the trains aren’t running, you’re screwed.”
It seems this is a common dilemma among many Western Sydney USyd students. Ramdhana also echoed the sentiment expressed by Poles. “Even if you leave campus fairly early — say 9pm — the commute times still make you get home crazy late, [which is] not good especially when you have work at 8am the next day,” she told us.
Economics, too, clearly come into play in this equation. “The really long commute and money involved with travelling sometimes doesn’t make a 2 hour event worth it for me,” she said.
“I’d rather go on days when they’re held when I’m on campus, but that is very rare as they are always on when I have class.”
Maryam, a member of Queers of Colour Organisation (QOCO), agrees. “I find myself disengaged from any events that aren’t happening on days where I’m not already on campus, and
Lion Sleeps Tonight’ to seal the deal. As Honi elections grow ever less competitive and the business of campaigning moves further and further online, the stunts and antics that previously electrified election season are quickly becoming extinct. In 2014, the SRC implemented rules prohibiting cross-campaigning between SRC Council/Presidential campaigns and Honi campaigns: this means that during contested elections, in-person campaigners must choose between championing a Council or Honi ticket. This regulation greatly taxed Honi campaigner numbers and inhibited unique opportunities for crosscampaigns.
After another year of uncontested Honi Soit elections, it’s easy to forget the lengths tickets would go to in their campaigns. Eastern Avenue is no longer the stage of stujo electoral theatre it once was and even the presence of Facebook has waned. But as memories of COVID fade and the campus nostalgia machine whirs up, it’s possible that Honi campaign stunts might make a comeback. Or maybe the tone and tenor of Honi elections have changed for good, a victim of the general shift to digital stumping. We hate to say it, but only time will tell.
even then, those that are held later in the day aren’t attendable as I need to be back home by certain times.”
Additionally, the expensive commute can prohibit them from affording tickets to bigger events, like galas and balls.
“I’m already blowing so much money on transport alone, like why is it $10 a day to commute to uni?” said Ramdhana, who expressed a desire to be more involved in the social side of campus culture, but finds herself often restricted to remote opportunities, such as contributing or editing student publications.
For those who are forced to drive, travel can be prohibitively more expensive. Yuna, who is the President and Events Director of the Cat Society and member of SUAnime, lives in Penrith and has a disability. She can’t use public transport and must drive to campus, which can cost as much as $48.24 each way due to petrol, tolls and parking.
Most students would like to move closer to campus but, given the present housing crisis, this seems almost impossible.
According to SQM research, the median weekly rent for a unit in the
Inner West has grown from $441 in 2021 to $701 in 2024, increasing by 59%, while the minimum hourly rate has only increased by 18.5%.
“Staying anywhere near campus is just way out of question for me,” said Ramdhana, who is a full time university student working three jobs to keep afloat.
Others are blocked from moving out due to cultural barriers.
“In my culture it’s heavily looked down upon for children to move out of their families’ homes until marriage,” said Maryam, who would love to move out to avoid the draining 1 hour and 20 minute commute from Campbelltown.
There is much USyd clubs and societies can do to make their events more accessible.
“Be kinder to us Western Sydney community. Make ‘bigger’ events [like galas and balls] cheaper, as sometimes they’re the only ones we can afford to attend time wise,” said Ramdhana.
Poles suggested holding events that are near popular stops on train lines as some Inner West suburbs can be “awkward” to get to.
Ramdhana also recommended announcing and scheduling events more than a week in advance, giving working students the opportunity to organise their shifts around them.
“Hold events that are more spread out over Sydney instead of always having them in the city or Inner West,” she said. “Come visit the area for once too!”
Marlow Hurst and Ariana Haghighi walk and talk.
Remembering the gay
When I came of age, queer characters seemed to crop up all over the place in film and television, but not in print. They were side characters that appeared in American films, drag queens that possessed more visual flair than literary like in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, or women in semi-homoerotic, semi-homophobic narratives like Jennifer’s Body and Mulholland Drive. When they did appear in print, they were in young adult novels that were dismissed as frivolous romances, like Simon v.s. the Homosapiens Agenda. Nobody took them seriously. Although, to be fair, at thirteen years old we took very little seriously.
Narratives
The first blatantly homosexual narrative I ever studied in an educational context was The Well of Loneliness, early in my second year. Literature is the medium through which humans have identified themselves for centuries, have tried to work out who they are and where they come from and what they can be, and we were not in it. Jeanette Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, writes “That is what literature offers — a language powerful enough to say how it is. It isn’t a hiding place. It is a finding place.” Novelised fiction also offers permanency and anonymity that the digital world does not. Even now there is little to show. Diana Reid’s Love & Virtue comes to mind, even if it seems homophobic as much as homoerotic, the gay relationship appearing briefly on the periphery and never granted explicit recognition. And while novels were few and far between, there were certainly no queer magazines. I had the good fortune of going to an all-girls school where girls flipped like dominoes during puberty to reveal which flag they were. We didn’t really know what we were doing — people changed names, genders and sexualities at the flip of a switch, because nobody had an instruction book and the only reference we had, aside from those dubious films, was each other. But aside from zines that we made and American movies from the 1990s and 2000s that we pirated online, we were fumbling around in ambiguity and obscurity. Queer people no longer seemed to draw the same fever-pitch levels of fear, hatred and bigotry; but nor were we a fixture of literary culture, even though we permeated Sydney’s arts and social scene, and have done so for decades.
screen or even by a battery limit. Print media is tangible and undeniable in a way that digital literature is not. And when the record of those experiences is available online in the medium of a website, blog or social media page, it is harder to preserve and much less likely to be exposed to academic interest or debate than physical evidence filed in an archive.
Printed in obscurity:
Narratives of abuse
to develop a frame of reference for seeking support and getting out of dangerous situations. They only have access to narratives that portray other types of relationships; not only that, but the scarcity of nuanced homosexual narratives could develop an impression that their experiences are unique and thus cannot be helped.
Remedying the of liberation
When queer people are treated as a homogenous entity there are several dangerous consequences, particularly in the invisibility of abusive relationships. Australian National University Gender Studies professor Isobel Lavers reflects on the way that the archive is constantly negotiated when it comes to queer women, particularly in reference to Carmen Maria Machado’s memoir In the Dream House, which considers how the queer women’s archive has failed to acknowledge a history of abuse and violence because of gendered biases: “The limitations of these rigid binaries, a rigidity in thinking I would argue is antithetical to queer positions inherently, is echoed throughout queer women’s abuse testimony.”
In the prologue Machado explains how novelised memoirs such as hers add to the archive: “I enter into the archive that domestic abuse between partners who share a gender identity is both possible and not uncommon, and that it can look something like this. I speak into the silence. I toss the stone of my story into a vast crevice; measure the emptiness by its small sound.”
significant materials have been lost due to not being valued at the time of their creation.
archival gaps
With a lack of representation in print there is also a lack of nuance, which has even greater scope to identify the complexities and fragilities present in the community. Print is the form that survives centuries, physical material passed from hand to hand that provides concrete evidence of existence and history. These histories, when they are only available in the ephemeral digital sphere, are constrained by shorter attention spans, by the desire to keep scrolling quickly until the end, by the hazy glow of the
Within the example of abuse in homosexual relationships, Lavers posits that “violence and abuse is known almost exclusively within a “heterosexual paradigm” that understands abusers as men and enforces a rigidity in understanding abuse.” These ideas about gender roles in relationships go beyond issues of abuse to reflect on how our understanding of what is ‘normal’ is substantiated by an archive that, regarding the vast majority of Australian literature, displays heterosexual relationships as a default and homosexual relationships as alien. When victims of domestic violence do not have print narratives that reflect their own experiences, it is harder
A widespread and growing support for queer communities has culminated in state-run initiatives that promote investing in queer archives. The NSW State Library recently established ‘The Archives of Sexuality and Gender,’ which contains publicly accessible data from sources in Australia and around the world, dating from as far back as the 16th century. In addition, the Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) possesses an enormous collection of resources that have been collected since 1978, as a way to preserve the cultural memory of the queer struggle towards recognition specifically since the beginning of Mardi Gras.
The intentionally diverse range of sources and archival materials is a balm for a vast mass of work that has patched together some of the cultural and historical gaps, linking the records and experiences of people across time periods and movements. However, the fact that these archives have been assembled in retrospect rather than actively compiled makes it much harder to collate a comprehensive record, with it being very likely that
The Women’s Library in Newtown has collected books written about and by women since 1991, with a focus on queer women’s literature. The library itself was established in 1994, and its efforts in the archive and in a range of social events is an important effort to address both the issues facing the queer women’s archive and queer social events around the issue of accessibility. The library itself is open for members of the public to visit, and regularly hosts community events such as book clubs, archival events and community meetings. It is run on a volunteer basis, which suggests some vulnerability in terms of continuity but it has persevered for three decades and is not going anytime soon.
Although the library itself was the product of a small group of women in queer media’s heyday of the 1990s, it is
Imogen Sabey hits the books.
heyday of queer print
now supported by the wider community, with books donated to the library by the public and by some publishers including Spinifex Press. It is largely targeted at an older queer community, with fewer events that cater to young people. However it has demonstrated notable endurance in surviving the vast social exodus towards social media and online socialising, and durability in developing a system that relies on new generations of volunteers rather than the same group of people who founded it.
Anne Hoffmann, a Sydney local and longtime volunteer at the library, remarked on the vast archive of queer newsletters, magazines and newspapers from across the world and at local universities. “You’d have a subscription [to queer news] as part of your groups and that would pay for the newsletter. People would have a subscription just to keep them going.” She commented that “the quality of the paper made it hard to preserve” the newspapers which had been collected in that archive. When Anne was growing up, she remembered “in 1995 one of my psych lecturers going ‘you have to learn about this brand new [internet]’, it’s going to change the world! Everything was still in print, and bulletin boards were the thing that happened before the internet.”
Social
spaces
Secondhand bookshop and café Sappho Books on Glebe Point Rd is one of the rare local spaces where queer culture is fostered and normalised beyond nightclubs and bars. Cathal Reynolds, who has worked there for many years, said that “There’s not many places that aren’t centred around alcohol” when it comes to queer socialising. “I think online spaces are the easiest place to find people.” He added that in regards to the cost of living crisis, “Everything costs money. You can’t go out without money. You have to pay for the space you take up.” Cathal’s view on the more generalised queer print media was “I think a lot of people just couldn’t afford to do passion projects. They’re all more general because they just have to be able to survive.”
The pandemic spurred a significant shift for the social lives of all young people, but for the queer community it “sped everything up.” There was already a slowing social scene, but COVID caused a sudden halt that stopped young queer people from socialising and made it immensely difficult to get back on track even after lockdown. While there are still places like Birdcage and The Bearded Tit where local queer communities flourish, this still takes place at night with alcohol, and is usually prohibitive without money or willing queer friends. At USyd, there is the QueerSpace, a room specifically allocated for the sole use of queer students, as well as a handful of societies like SHADES, Queer STEM, QOCO (Queers of Colour) and Queer Revue. However these societies tend to host events infrequently and usually to centre them again around alcohol and being out late, something which is inaccessible to many students who live far away or affected by the current cost-of-living crisis.
Jules, a radio host and veteran of Newtown queer society who frequents the Women’s Library, discussed several queer nightclubs that featured large in her life, including The Taxi Club, Ruby’s, Midnight Shift and Tropicana among others. Most of these no longer exist today. “Oxford St will always be Oxford St,” she said, but “the establishments have disappeared. Lockdown destroyed everything.”
Digital
Dating apps have surged in popularity as a way to meet queer people, even sometimes just to make friends. Platforms like Hinge, Bumble, She and
Grindr are convenient avenues for those looking to make as many connections as possible, although this tends to result in shallower relationships and time spent doom scrolling through profiles rather than getting to know someone. Furthermore, access is not equal: some queer people who are not yet out would be putting themselves at risk by using these sites, while women, trans or nonbinary people may feel less safe than men.
Some meeting groups, like the Lesbian Run Club and Frontrunners LGBTQIA+ manage local events that try to go beyond this formula, hosting weekly meetups that revolve around sport, crafts, yoga and so on. There is still an emphasis on trying to meet potential partners rather than friends, but the opportunity to be in an exclusive community space is extremely important. The Sydney Gay Gals is another queer social group that has a whopping 3,700 members and a vast range of activities including book clubs, drink nights, sports sessions, film festivals, conversation groups and parties, with roughly half of the events directed specifically at young people. These groups are some of the best ways that the internet has been used to help the queer social scene thrive rather than confine it to online chat groups, using websites like Meetup, a platform allowing people with similar interests to find each other and then hold in-person events. This could become even more beneficial if it gained greater permanency and physical presence, through establishing permanent meeting locations or advertising in physical spaces like on community noticeboards, to improve accessibility. Even better would be printed records of these groups, reflective of a developing community. A tangible, permanent record would ensure that these fragments of social history do not vanish if the online presence dissipates.
journalism
During the 1990s, every state in Australia had a gay and lesbian publication. The NSW lesbian publication was called Lesbians on the Loose, and was distributed for free throughout the state and the country. It was the longest-running publication of its kind, and allowed lesbians a literary space of their own. According to Frances Rand, a cofounder of Lesbians on the Loose, “the single biggest [issue] was visibility. It was easier not to recognise our relationships and discriminate against us when we were hidden. The more gays and lesbians came out to friends, family and in public, the harder it became to ignore the validity of our relationships. Lesbians on the Loose
with its listings of social, political and sporting groups, activities, personals, dances and bars enabled not only the growth and development of a lesbian community but a sense of pride in ourselves. It was OK to be gay; we didn’t have to hide any more.” This print media has developed a space that fosters both the queer women’s archive, and all issues of the magazine have been digitised and saved in the National Library of Australia, allowing it to remain permanently accessible.
However, the magazine stopped printing in 2019, shortly after Barbara Farrelly, who had co-founded the magazine with Rand in 1990, passed away. Despite flourishing for nearly three decades, the magazine did not have the durability to continue over multiple generations. It was distributed for free across Sydney and in various locations around Australia, with a circulation of 20,000 when its printing ceased and it began to be digitised.
Fortunately, there are other outlets for queer media, with FUSE and QNews being two of the main sources. Critically, both of these are free to access. QNews is available in newsletter form with a subscription to be mailed out across the country. But these are not aimed at a particular queer minority group; they are directed towards all queer people, which is beneficial for the vast scope that it provides but also detrimental to groups that once had dedicated, specific forms of print media aimed at them.
For queer people who have been effaced from the history books since within living memory, the print archive is a space not only to preserve our stories, but a means of reclaiming the history that we have been denied. In it we can see the loves, struggles and victories of those who have come before us: it is a reminder to every person who has grown up not knowing who they were or if anyone else was like them that they are not alone.
*Some names have been changed.
My first society event at USyd was the 2022 Queer Beers, the twice-annual “Welcome to Semester” social night headlined by SHADES and the other queer societies. It was at Hermann’s Bar, bustling with a cacophony of jittery first-years, often exploring their own sense of queerness for the first time, and a whirlwind of students with
Queer campus culture: A
state of the union, personal history, and call to action
a complex web of relations. Messy kisses, hearty but short friendships, intertwined friends/lovers/flings, through it all we shared this collective, joyous sense that our love and lives are so deeply, immensely limitless.
I met a few very important people in my life that night, including my first ever uni friend (love you Justine!). But more importantly, it opened my eyes to a world I had never seen before, and a world I had never felt so at home in. My story is well-trodden: barely anyone was “out” at my high school, and existing at an all-boys school as a visibly queer person meant that it became a small segment of my personhood that I kept in my back pocket. I was so focused on survival I couldn’t find bliss.
On campus, there are five main queer societies/collectives that students can throw themselves into. There’s QUEST, Queers in STEM, followed by QOCO, Queers of Colour, who run both open and autonomous events. QUAC, the Queer Action Collective, focuses on off-campus and on-campus activism. Queer Revue is the annual sketch comedy show
by, and for, queer students. And then there was SHADES, the largest queer social society on campus, which has been vaguely unregistered since the end of last year.
I joined the Queer Revue in 2022 and thrived as a cast member surrounded by wacky, exuberant, and incredibly gay sketch performers who were all some degree of amateur but all so funny and talented. I then piggybacked one of my best friends (and eventual co-director Ewan) and followed him from that cast to join SHADES as a general executive. From there I jumped to Vice-President and welfare officer in 2023, before assuming Presidency of Queer Revue in the same year.
Society time is compressed, and queer time is quick. I have evolved from hapless second-year exploring on-campus culture after a year of intermittent lockdowns — thank you 2021 — to becoming a pseudoqueer elder on campus. In the space of three years I’ve watched a whole new generation of students emerge, with their hopes and joys and TikTok dances (do the kids still do that these days?)
Yet it makes me sad that this new generation exists in a queer campus vacuum. As much as the other societies are still running, there is a sense that they have actively and passively become separated, and that there is no glue anymore. SHADES was the glue. We organised inter-society events, we held end-of-sem parties, an abundant amount of low-key social events like afternoon teas and arcade nights, and I’d say we did it well.
SHADES running these broadly queer events gave the other societies a chance to run events autonomously without the pressure of serving every student. As a white gay majoring in Gender Studies, the other societies are incredibly important spaces, but ones I do not feel comfortable primarily existing within.
SHADES collapsed because of complex and sensitive issues which I don’t even fully grasp to this day. For some of the execs I spoke to before writing this, the eventual crumbling of the executive team started with a certain Vice President who was unofficially exiled by a unanimous vote. For others, it was a personal reckoning with the serious and awful alleged actions of another executive member. Or perhaps it was the final straw of a barebones Executive and a President who spontaneously ghosted everyone. This is not a gossip piece, and these stories are not mine to tell, but what I can say is that SHADES faced an extensive interpersonal reckoning, and no one was willing to put in the work to patch up the damage.
Inherently, a social society will have problems. They face the possibility of becoming insular, bogged down in arguably incestuous personal relations and histories. There’s a fine line between bringing in fresh blood and having a sufficient handover to pass on necessary knowledge and attitudes to run an executive. Without a confident
and consistent welfare arm, a social society, especially one inhabited by queer students, also risks massive internal haemorrhaging which can easily be mismanaged. And yet, I still believe these spaces must persist.
The existence of a space on campus where queer students can just be, without the baggage of explanation to the outside world, without the looming expectation that our existence in this life has to be meaningful, actively political, or even inspirational, where we can just party and dance and support student DJs, drag performers, and just forget about exams for a night is so important.
Queer societies have taught me trust and responsibility. They’ve shown me every side of every spectrum you could possibly imagine. They’ve handdelivered some of my favourite people in the world to me. They’ve shown me what it means to be confident, to be passionate, how important it is to love and to laugh. They’ve let me get a little messy, and they breathed life into the husk of a body I call my own.
There are certain voices on campus who believe that a society like SHADES should be politicised and intertwined with activism. Our existence as queers, it is said, means an existence which is inherently political, and our spaces should reflect that. It may be a privilege, but I believe it is for the benefit of the community to have spaces, especially broadly autonomous ones, where we just can just exist, enjoy, and breathe.
SHADES can’t die. We need fresh blood, we need passion, and we need to pass down the economic and social resources that have been built for more than a decade.
At the beginning of the year, Queer Revue held a social night at a local pub. We advertised it for a few weeks, got publicity from some other societies, we had a free room and a DJ and a bar tab, and only ten people showed up. Eight of them were part of my beloved cast and crew. Two of them were first years. They had heard about the event on Instagram, and were hoping to discover the thriving queer campus culture here at USyd. Instead they walked into a small little room where we tried to make magic anyway.
I write this for them.
And I call on you, dear reader, to take these words and run with them. A few of us are looking to keep the society alive in a caretaker capacity, to make sure that all loose ends are tied before SHADES is hopefully handed over to a fresh group of students. We hope that will happen anyway. So if you’re here, reading this, thinking alongside me that these spaces should exist for our queer communities on campus, then do something about it.
Societies do not exist without student passion. They don’t exist without that hope and that want. They are joyous, social, memory-making places, where you learn invaluable life lessons and skills. We can’t let that die. It is our responsibility to keep that hope alive.
William Winter looks at a history of love, loss and hope.
Photo: USyd Queer Revue 2023
A foray through campus
Sachi Pirola photographs.
How to close read: (on bad authority)
Ariana Haghighi reads between the lines.
Close reading is like dating. Just when you think you’ve nailed the technique, you find out you’ve been doing it wrong, oh so wrong, upside down, and you have to simply scratch all you’ve learnt and start over. But there’s no rule book. And everyone has different opinions. No two people do it the same and you’re told “every way to approach this is right” but that can’t be true, because your current approach seems to end poorly each time.
The first myth you encounter about close reading in an educational context is the adage, “there are no wrong answers”. There certainly are, and if you study English, a mark will tell you as such.
The need to close read itself is subject to debate. Devoting time and space in an essay to line-by-line analysis has its roots in New Criticism theory, which foregrounds the author’s intention as key to unlocking an understanding of the text. However, this need not be the case. Close reading enables reader self-insertion, and is the process by which we can find new interpretations. Close reading is therefore a vital methodology when dissecting a text, regardless of the analyst’s views on Death of the Author.
During my English degree, I’ve received very little instruction on how to actually close-read, often relying on rudimentary high-school techniques. In conversation with other students, it’s clear this experience is universal. When I have been taught close-reading methodology, it is usually during one-on-one sessions with tutors or supervisors, sometimes on unpaid time. My understanding of closereading underwent a seismic shift during my Honours year, where my supervisor could focus on my writing and point out just how misguided my approach had been.
A quick internet search for guides to close reading reveals few resources of use: HSC advice from tutoring websites encourages ‘techniquemining’, often leading students to hallucinate the existence of extremely obscure techniques.
This is an issue that the University of Sydney is currently addressing to some degree. The Department and the English Society arrange sessions on essay-writing methodology, such as close-reading and comparative essay structures. But, these sessions are often poorly attended due to a lack of awareness. In 2022, the firstyear course “Idea of the Classic” was made compulsory: this class famously involves three short “close-reading tasks” as part of its assessment structure.
However, many students bemoan
this “close-reading task”, likely because directions on how to close-read are puzzling. Second year English student Angus McGregor shares that “in the tutorial setting, close-reading skills are almost never discussed. I have never had a tutor model close reading or go over a passage in formal detail. Yes, models of analysis exist in lectures but it’s very hard to see that translate into an essay.”
Second year English student Imogen Sabey agreed: “I worked out what my tutors had been looking for through trial and error rather than explicit instruction. Some of my peers had done a lot more close reading in high school because they had different curriculums, but the instruction I received in my first semester was lacklustre at best.”
3 tips that may surprise you
Under the tutelage of supervisors and peers far cleverer than me, I have found that the entryway into better closereadings is the trapdoor — it’s the approach that takes you by surprise.
Reading closely by zooming out: pattern-seeking
As the name suggests, close-reading involves analysis of a text at a granular level. Students often take a passage line-by-line, forgetting the words which precede the phrase under scrutiny. However, a patternseeking approach can provide more evidence for a convincing argument. Arguments about a passage’s consistent use of a certain kind of connotation, or rhetoric, or even type of word or tense, can power bigger claims about a text. So, zooming out and searching for repeats, reproductions and reappearances may uncover interesting insights. When you find multiple patterns, stitch them together to make a larger tapestry, and consider how each thread speaks to each other. Just as you might look for patterns, it helps to note when patterns are broken and think about how this destabilises meaning or message.
But also: take the sentence to the operating table
As a lazy violin-player, teenaged-me would skip trills and quavers to give my fast-moving fingers a rest. My violin teacher condemned this act of musical treachery, taking on a New Criticism approach: “Each of those
notes were chosen for a reason! You must play each one!” Though my violin career ended unceremoniously at 15, this rings true for words and sentences. In Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook, she speaks to a poem’s design, fashioned by “language used in the way it is used”. Ask yourself, why this word and not another? How would a synonym as substitute disrupt the sentence’s harmonies? When dissecting the sentence, consider the role each word plays in theatres of tone, sound, and meaning.
Get mechanical: what’s the technique of the technique?
After a technique-heavy high school diet, identifying and labelling techniques, particularly the common staples such as metaphor, alliteration and allusion, becomes as autonomic as swallowing. Again, zooming out
can be helpful: consider the point of these techniques, why the author may have chosen this technique over another, and most importantly, examine the machinery of the technique itself. Break techniques down to their first principles: a simile compares two things by suggesting they are alike, whereas a metaphor treats them as the same. Consider how the mechanical differences between techniques sculpt meaning. Ultimately, close-reading is about finding an approach that works for you, but adages such as these are not helpful when dealt out as the sole advice to puzzled students. Lean on direct advice from tutors and supervisors and remember that asking the question, “Wait, how do we actually close-read?” makes you a member of a larger crowd than you might presume. With thanks to Eamonn Murphy for our helpful conversation on closereading.
Where is the Australian campus novel?
Ally Pitt flicks through the pages.
The first time I heard of Diana Reid’s 2021 novel Love & Virtue I was — much like its protagonist, at times — on the Murrays. Its title spread quickly through group chats, a subject of discourse at our pre-academic year Common Room Committee ‘retreat’. “It’s so interesting,” we tittered, “what life at USyd looks like.”
Of course, Love & Virtue’s broad appeal and our fascination with it is borne from a degree of universality. ANU’s colleges are not sandstone, nor are they particularly storied, but they are equally filled with privateschool Sydney transplants who employ HSCNinja as liberally as Instagram to stalk their acquaintances and equally charge the going rate of $60 an hour for HSC tutoring. Other aspects of the Australian university experiences stick out further: our perpetual informality in addressing academics, for example, perhaps reflecting their de-edification by a musty, unassuming lecture
‘theatre’. Notwithstanding that Love & Virtue is, broadly, easy to read and wellwritten, much of its appeal lies in a description of Sydney, and Australian campuses, that felt tangible, in the way that American, British and Irish institutions littering the Goodreads to-read lists of my friends often do. Which begged the question: where had the Australian campus novel been before?
It is not uncommon for popular Australian novels to centre on the continent’s landscape. Several recent Miles Franklin-winning novels explore Aboriginal Australian narratives. It is understandable, perhaps, that to foreign audiences these are features that most rapidly communicate key characteristics of Australia: vast, dry, settler-colonial. In a quest for international marketability, Australian media that does not explicitly centre on these themes instead often erases its setting altogether: you could be
— is well described in Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and Elif Batuman’s The Idiot, and others — fraternities, sororities, et cetera — are a mainstay of films marketed to our age group. Oxford features in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and becomes centrepiece of the aesthetic backdrop in Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn. Sally Rooney’s Normal People has resulted in Trinity College campus and its traditions becoming cemented into global conceptions of university, despite Ireland’s small population.
We could be content with these representations, but the observation that our universities are vastly different from their international counterparts would not elude any Australian student. 80% of Australians work while studying, while student loan schemes in place in the UK and the US result in that number being 56% and 40% respectively. Students who worked while studying in the US were 20% less likely to finish their degrees, but in Australia this was positively correlated to degree attainment, suggesting a fundamental difference in how our universities operated. It doesn’t take keen observation to note that the experience of studying while working differs vastly from treating academic endeavours as a full-time job. And yet, the majority of media we consume insists that paid employment is entirely outside the realm of tertiary education.
forgiven for failing to notice that Netflix’s reboot of Heartbreak High was filmed in Maroubra, for example, and the lack of what should be ubiquitous school uniforms seems designed to smooth over an American viewing experience.
This is not to suggest that authors should pay greater attention to the specific universities at the expense of other important critiques and explorations of Australian society. But it seems worthy of comment that popular, critically-acclaimed, Australian novels do not seem to consider a tertiary education system, that over half of the population holds a degree from, in any great depth. This becomes particularly jarring when you consider the enmeshment of the campus novel into the modern literature canon of other anglophone countries. A particular genre of the American university experience — IvyLeague, perhaps, exclusive, definitely
The structure of Australian degrees also seems to sit between the rigidity or freedom suggested by popular media (depending on whether you’re reading an American or British conception). The notion of a ‘concentration’ is rightly mocked by those Tiktok videos that satirise American vocabulary, but we have significantly more freedom than extremely-specialised British degrees. These differences create a bizarre clash between our high-school romanticisations of university life and its reality.
Whether or not depictions of tertiary education might be accurate to an Australian perspective is not necessarily an individually pressing issue. But the lack of Australian narratives or genre development about a formative period of many of our lives limits our ability to use literature and stories to make sense of our own experiences or view them reflected back at us. We suffer from the narrowness of a single popular depiction, and, as granular and accurate as Reid’s portrayal may be, the vast majority of Australian students do not pass through university with catered formal dinners at colleges. There is much to be gained from reading literature with the view of expanding your perspectives, but equally as important is its capacity to help us understand ourselves. There are other Australian student stories worth being told.
Art: Shania O’Brien
Three acts of
of animal cruelty
(And the assholes who do them...)
#1: THE SPIDERMONKEY INCIDENT
It was 2004, and Spain had incredibly loose laws regarding keeping exotic animals as pets. I was visiting family in Spain and my parents left me for a playdate at my cousin’s house; he was a couple years older than me.
He led me to a quiet corner of the house. Here, there was a dark red blanket thrown over a cage no bigger than what you would keep a cockatiel in. Theatrically, he pulled away the blanket. There was a spindly, wiryhaired spidermonkey hanging upside down from a wooden bar.
My cousin went to the kitchen and returned with a metal kebab skewer.
We had a herd of sheep at our high school, the agriculture department was very well-funded. One morning we had an assembly; the Principal announced that someone had broken into the school and killed everybody’s favourite sheep. The sheep-killer in question had been filmed by a friend as he swung the creature in circles by its hind legs before throwing her into a wire-fence; she died of stress due to the experience. The video circulated amongst us students; we knew the guy. He was from another school and was notorious for beating the shit out of us on the weekends.
He prodded the monkey with the pointy end. It released a bloodcurdling scream and did not stop, even after my cousin had stopped. I noticed that it had countless wounds on its scabby, nearly hairless belly.
My cousin threw the blanket back over the cage, and we went and played ‘Simpsons Hit and Run’ on his Playstation 2; the monkey didn’t stop screaming all afternoon, even when my parents came to pick me up.
Nineteen years later, I was reunited with this same cousin. I was fascinated to see what kind of twentyfive-year-old that little boy had turned
into. Then, I was disappointed to learn that he was a New Alt Right type, spinning in the Manosphere orbit, constantly rattling off Andrew Tateisms, esoteric homophobic rhetoric, and a few insanely racist statements which caught me completely off-guard.
I asked him about the Spidermonkey Incident, explaining that it was my earliest and most enduring memory, and that if he had anything to clear up about it, please enlighten me.
“Oh, yeah, I remember the monkey,” he said. “I hated that thing. It was always screaming.”
#2 CHICKENS OVERDOSING ON ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK
In Year 9, the kids who did agriculture at my high school were tasked with taking home four chicken eggs, hatching them, and raising the chicks for a few weeks. I did not do agriculture, but somebody I used to smoke weed with did. He had two pugs whose faces he habitually blew smoke into, after pulling a bong. They would get irritated red eyes and start “acting funny”.
When the chickens hatched, I was over at his place. It was nice. We got
stoned and watched these anomalous creatures emerge from their fractured shells. I went back over a week later. They had grown feathers and looked far more like chickens than they had as fresh newborns. It was strange, though; they were jittery, and tweeting in such a way that I presumed distress.
Later, I observed him pouring Rockstar-brand energy drink into the water feeder of the enclosure. I said something flaccid and nonconfrontational like, “why’re you
doing that.” He shrugged. “It’s funny.” Needless to say, he failed the assignment, because a few days later the chicks had all died, presumably of heart failure.
He went off the deep end soon after that, became a prolific drug dealer. That’s not why he’s an asshole, though. I ran into him maybe a year ago. Dude wouldn’t stop talking to me about crypto.
Friday night of that week I went to a houseparty. It turned into a huge scene; all these crashers showed up (par for the course), and upon not being let in began to hurl bottles over the fence and shout various pejoratives. Then they left, we all got fucked up, it was like usual. About two hours later a few of the crashers returned and proceeded to strongarm their way through the frontdoor. One of them had a metal pole, some kind of discarded piece of machinery probably from the construction-site dumpsters nearby. There were fifty or sixty of us all in the backyard. The
crashers started throwing punches indiscriminately, and the guy with the metal pole started swinging. I recognised him from the video; it was the dude who had killed the sheep.
Several casualties that night, most of which were good friends of mine; one girl had her wrist broken, one guy had most of his teeth knocked out. The metal pole was jagged and rusted at either end; the sharp edge of it caught my friend’s forearm and split it open. There were other injuries that I was not so privy to, that I don’t know the exact nature of, but I know for certain another guy got a fracture in
his skull. After the party had dispersed and the sheep-killer had fled, people were left nursing various open-wounds or cradling their broken bones or laid down in puddles of blood coming out their skull, nobody older than 15. He got arrested sometime over the weekend, for the sheep, but a few of the people he harmed decided to press charges also. I’m not sure of the punishment, but I know he ended up moving back to New Zealand, where he had recently emigrated from. I never heard about him again.
Diving into the deep: An underwater hiatus
Doyou know the euphoria you experience when you take in the scent of salt air? The ecstasy of the sea spray that hits your face, does it not make you feel ethereal? Does it not make you feel human?
Well, let me be the one to tell you that you can experience that and so much more if you immerse yourself into the beauty of the underwater kingdom. After all, you’re only human if you succumb to the curiosity of unraveling a mystery; in this case, the world of the ocean.
In today’s demanding and fastpaced environment, university students are drowning in the whirlpool of academic stress, pressure and looming deadlines. Maintaining these stressors along with balancing mental and physical health feels like swimming against a tide, but little do university students know that there is a way to swim with the current. Enter scuba diving. A transformative but exhilarating underwater experience that encompasses adventure, serenity and health benefits all in one, that I can attest to.
Having six years of diving experience under my snorkel, I would
say that it is an endeavour every university student should embark on.
The first perception of scuba diving is usually to do with the beautiful coral reefs, snapping marine life and the mysterious shipwrecks waiting to be uncovered. However, my views have changed drastically from the thrill of exploration to the feeling of ataraxia. It is much more than an adventure sport, it’s a way of escapism. From the first jump off the boat into the loving arms of the ocean, your mind softens. It is calm, it is peaceful. Underwater, you seem to forget your daily struggles — an assignment doesn’t matter anymore. Now you’re part of an alien world where your worries seem to drift away with the tide and you are one with the sea. There’s something inherently therapeutic about being weightless, surrounded by the silence of the sea where the only sounds are your own breath and the distant clicking of marine life.
Scientific research supports the notion that diving provides significant mental health benefits. Studies have shown that engaging in recreational diving lowers cortisol levels — a primary indicator of stress — and reduces anxiety while enhancing concentration and mental clarity.
The serene underwater environment, with its mesmerizing patterns of light and shadows, encourages a state of mindfulness similar to meditation. Just like meditative practices, diving requires a focus on breathing — slow, deep inhalations and exhalations that regulate the diver’s buoyancy and calm the mind.
I remember the first time I immersed myself into this world, the first splash of the salty water and how small I felt, compared to this big world waiting to be touched by humanity. The insignificance in the ocean made my time on land much more profound, and gave life much more meaning.
Scuba diving isn’t just about exploring the underwater world; it’s also about connecting with it. The human brain responds positively to interactions with nature, and the ocean is no exception. Numerous studies have highlighted the psychological benefits of engaging with natural environments. Diving takes this a step further. Being underwater offers a unique chance to interact closely with marine life, from curious schools of fish to the graceful movements of sea turtles.
Encounters with marine animals can boost serotonin levels, a neurotransmitter associated with happiness and well-being. These
interactions trigger the brain to release ‘feel-good’ chemicals, resulting in a mood uplift. Known as the mammalian diving reflex, when in contact with cold or cool water your heart rate slows and the blood vessels in the arms, hands and legs constrict and tighten giving the body a sense of calm and relief.
The ocean offers much more than you can imagine for your health. When scuba diving, you come into contact with magnesium chloride that calms your muscles much more effectively than an Epsom salt bath. You’re also grounded in direct contact with mother nature’s healing frequencies in turn reducing stress and inflammation. There is an immediate transformative effect when swimming alongside a playful pod of dolphins or witnessing a majestic manta ray glide by. Looking inside the world’s most feared animal, the exalted shark, you feel no fear and time moves slow. It is a feeling of awe and connectedness that lingers long after you’ve returned to the surface. Such experiences not only lift spirits but also have a longlasting impact on your emotional wellbeing, making it easier to handle the rigors of life.
Considering these strong psychological and physical advantages, scuba diving should be taken into account as a recreational activity for students. Embracing scuba diving as part of student life doesn’t require a weekly commitment; a single experience can make a significant difference. Numerous dive shops provide beginner classes, often called “Discover Scuba Diving” sessions, that let customers safely explore the underwater environment and pick up the fundamentals of diving under the supervision of a qualified instructor. These classes are not only approachable but also have the potential to spark a passion that lasts a lifetime.
Scuba diving offers university students an opportunity to take a literal and figurative deep breath — to escape from the surface-level worries and dive into a tranquil world that heals both mind and body. It is a holistic experience that combines mental clarity, and a profound sense of serenity. Whether pursued recreationally or integrated as a regular part of a balanced lifestyle, it remains a compelling way to defy the depths and embrace a healthier, more mindful existence.
So, if you’re looking for a new adventure that offers more than just thrills, grab a mask, strap on a tank, and dive in. The ocean is waiting, so dive into the deep and embrace your own personal wellness journey.
Kiah Nanavati makes a splash.
Lesbians, conspiracy theories and bangers: A conversation with the creators of Flat Earthers: The Musical
What happens when you meet someone who spins your world right round, but they don’t believe the world is round? This question is at the heart of Flat Earthers: The Musical, the newest production from creative trio Jean Tong, Lou Wall and James Gales, playing this month and next at the Hayes Theatre. It follows the adventures of flat-earther Flick and globe-earther Ria through the depths of the dark web and beyond. “Also, it’s lesbians, cause that’s just what I do. I can’t make them straight, unless I really have to,” adds Tong.
The co-production from the Hayes Theatre Co and Griffin Theatre Company was originally created in the aftermath of the Trump campaign and beginnings of the ‘post-truth’ era, as the creators considered the ways that the internet and online communities were changing.
“When a musical is done well, it provides a really entertaining frame to basically trick people into watching shows that are about politics or about big social debates, because nobody really wants to read another article about how society is really struggling to talk to each other,” says Tong. “But if we give them a comedy romance slash satire, suddenly you’re just watching this funny show and then because there’s that layer of entertainment on it, you’re given the space then to reflect on it after.”
Flat Earthers is a two act musical with twenty new songs and nine cast members — starring Michelle Brasier, Lena Cruz, Manali Datar, Manon
Gunderson-Briggs, Milo Hartill, Amanda McGregor, Mel O’Brien, Shannen Alyce Quan and Zarif. Creating this is no easy feat. “I think it is really meaningful that we have made this show and filled it in terms of cast and creatives across the board with people from marginalised gender identities, people who often don’t get that opportunity,” shares Tong.
Using backing tracks and an electronic music style drawing influences from rave, hip hop and hyperpop, Gales says that “it would be wrong to do a show about the internet that didn’t sound like this.”
Tong would love audiences to “walk away feeling more capable of coming out into the world and understanding that we can’t always force people to believe what we believe, but at the end of the day we all still live in the same world and we do need to find a way to understand each other and give each other a little more grace.”
“At some level, this show is about really serious stuff, like your family member who’s been radicalised or things like that, but at the same time we’re talking about it in a way that is a really silly song and dance,” says Gales.
“It’s about humanisation, it’s about looking past the actual proper nouns of whatever belief it is and looking to the feeling behind it, which is something that anybody can empathise with.”
Flat Earthers: The Musical is playing at the Hayes Theatre from October 11 to November 9.
RUINS at Belvoir Theatre
Created and directed by Emily Ayoub and Madeline Baghurst, RUINS follows Amelia Alyssa (Emily Ayoub) who travels to Lebanon, her country of origin without her father Joe Alyssa (Tony Poli) as he had passed away shortly before her trip. Contending with the “unfinished business of death”, Amelia sets out to the Hotel Palmyra, one of many famous hotels in Lebanon that hosted icons like Jean Cocteau and Ella Fitzgerald. We hear of contradicting legends of how the Temple of Jupiter was built. We hear of the story of the Phoenician sky god, Baal. We hear of soldiers with kalashnikovs at checkpoints threatening to shoot Joe because he laughed at them. We also hear of the civil war, and 1982, when Israel had just invaded Lebanon. At the time of publication, the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek specifically, have been subject to airstrikes by Israel.
Ensemble cast Madeline Baghurst,
‘Between Merit and Hope’: Clare Wigney’s solo show taking over Schmick Contemporary
Anthills Garlands Rings of Trees Combing the Shore Complete Devotion A Ways
The stark white space broken by bold letters, Schmick Contemporary becomes a billboard, one where the artist decides what they say. In the hidden gallery’s current show, ‘Between Merit and Hope’, artist Clare Wigney delves further into their interest in questioning the simulations of reality through this sculptural piece.
have been thinking about simulation theory for a long time, and images as supplanting reality, or becoming the windows through which we perceive and understand the world. That is the information age I suppose,” Wigney said.
Piumi Wijsundara and Adam Al Kuheli held their own as they shapeshifted as the play demanded that everyone be on stage together to produce each scene. Ayoub shone as Amelia but it was Poli who soared as Joe, and propelled the narrative forward.
While the dialogue often felt metaphorical and didactic (“crossroads” being the answer to a hint in Joe’s crossword), the concept of standing at the ruins, exposed and surrendering yourself to the past, which came from Arabic poetry, was well evoked. Nevertheless, I was left wanting more after the 50-minute runtime flew by and I remembered that I had to check out of the Hotel Palmyra and return to Sydney.
This one is for every Lebanese person who feels stuck, scared or in a state of ruin. I hope we all remain intact and standing tall like the temple of Baalbek. Our past, present and future depends on this.
Wigney, self branded as a painter, breaks this tension between the physical and immaterial nature of contemporary visual culture. Fragmenting and highlighting incomplete images as malleable images, reusing and repurposing something so distinct as a sign that we pass — one in which the meaning and message is at the dictation of the artist. The space at Schmick itself is small; the artist-run initiative (ARI) comprises a room hidden amongst George Street. Its walls, floors and ceiling being given the landlord special with thick layers of white paint in every nook and cranny. However, its Victorian style fireplace and beautiful natural light create an angelic halo over Wigney’s work. The sign is so out of place, if anything it makes me wonder who got stuck carrying it up five flights of stairs.
This work is speculative of how images supplant reality, a new window in which we can perceive and understand the world — taking something informative and certain and turning it into poetry. I asked Wigney about the show as an obvious deviation from their paintings and what inspired these sculptural works.
“I have always been preoccupied with pictures, or images, so this work is definitely a deviation for me. I am interested in paintings as images, within, and not above, the endless tide of media in contemporary culture. I
“The thing that I value about painting the most is that the picture is malleable, being built and destroyed and rebuilt within the creative process... I am interested in the act of looking, and when something is unclear, looking further, harder, squinting and thinking. I am interested in images as imitations of reality, and then paintings as duplicates and decoys.”
As someone who stepped into Schmick overwhelmed by the work and a flurry of my own conceptions and meanings, this conversation got to the crux of it — contemporary art is about understanding through confusion. But the whole show is in fact a ‘merit’ to the burgeoning ARI scene in Sydney, more so the ability to free artists from commercial grapples. Wigney highlights this work as semiexperimental, the sign becomes a header of randomised poetry, tarot card-esque chance and just some of their favourite words. The title itself is a chance experience on the road between two small towns — Merit and Hope. But to me, there is a shared autonomy between work, audience and artist. My first viewing was filled with my own meaning, the words a clear statement and an interest in popular culture especially the absorption of it in Australia, which has always been very western and americanised.
‘Between Merit and Hope’ become more than towns — it is the merit in creative work, and the hope that it is allowed to bloom.
Veronica Lenard listens to some bangers.
Miya Sywak looks for the signs.
Valerie Chidiac reviews.
Declaration of Final Results
2024 Annual Elections
Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney
The 2024 Annual Elections have concluded, and counting has been completed. I hereby declare the below candidates elected.
Sincerely,
Riki Scanlan, 2024 SRC Electoral Officer
President
ANGUS FISHER
Honi Soit
Ellie Robertson
Ondine Karpinellison
Emilie Garcia-Dolnik
Will Winter
Mehnaaz Hossain
Annabel Li
Purny
Imogen
Delegates to the National Union of Students
President’s Report
Harrison Brennan
The President did not submit a report this week.
Education Officers’ Report
Grace Street & Shovan Bhattarai
The University’s proposed changes to 5-day simple extensions, late discontinuation for courses and special considerations is a blatant attack on student welfare that would affect disabled students, student carers, working students, or students needing flexibility for whatever reason. The ability of the SRC and SUPRA to stop the changes going through in the Academic Standards and Policy Committee shows the importance of a fighting, activist and engaged student union.
Last week,we learnt that the University of Sydney spent $12m on contractors to find ways around compensating staff for their underpayment, and we stand with staff in their fight for their basic wages. The corporate university is again spending time and money into avoiding their responsibilities as a public education institution, rather than putting money into paying their staff correctly or into increasing the quality of courses and
SRC Reports
university services.
At the same time, our University continues its investments in and partnerships with Israeli universities and companies complicit in occupation in Palestine. In response to our encampment, Student General Meeting, and frequent protests of students and staff, the University is set on peddling the narrative that pro-Palestine members of its community are violent or unreasonable. We need everyone’s voices and participation in this movement to effect real change.
COMING UP: THE NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION FOR GAZA, OCT 21–25
This National Week of Action, ‘There are no universities left in Gaza’ is being put on by the National Union of Students and BDS Youth around the continent, including at USyd! Join us for a screening of ‘Palestine Under Siege’ on Monday Oct 21, a webinar on Friday Oct 25, and most importantly, the NATIONAL STRIKE ON WEDNESDAY OCT 23 AT 1PM.
See @src_usyd and @bds_youth for more details.
Environment Officers’ Report
Jordan Anderson, Thomas Williams & Madeleine Clark
It has been one year of the genocide in Palestine and Israel shows no sign of stopping its genocide in Gaza. Now, Israel has invaded South Lebanon with Netanyahu stating that it could face the ‘destruction of Gaza’. Already 2,000 have been killed in Lebanon and 1 million have been displaced (a fifth of the population).
Yet, the US and Australia have completely supported Israeleconomically, politically, diplomatically and otherwise. As such, the US has spent a record of at least $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since the assault on Gaza began. There have been no “red lines” and instead the US has dutifully supported Israel at every step, parroting and creating new justifications. As an ally of the US, Australia has also backed Israel, directly providing them with weapons and justifying their attacks. Further, the Australian media, both major parties and the police have attempted to repress our movement, attacking our free speech and right to demonstrate.
Throughout the year, we have promoted pro-Palestine activism. Protest is the only way we can fight Labor’s stance. Although governments in West clamp down on pro-Palestinian voices,
Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney
Meeting of the Representatives-Elect of the 97th Students’ Representative Council
A meeting of Representatives-Elect of the 97th SRC will be held 5pm on Wednesday 30th October, Room TBA
The following positions are open to nomination from currently enrolled members of the undergraduate student body:
Vice-President
General Secretary
One Education Officer
One Wom*n’s Officer
Two Disabilities and Carers Officers
Two Environment Officers
Two Ethno-Cultural Officers
Two Global Solidarity Officers
Two First Nations Officers
Two Inter-Campus Officers
Two Interfaith Officers
Two International Students’ Officers
Two Mature-Age Students’ Officers
Two Queer Officers
Two Refugee Rights Officers
Two Residential College Officers
Two Sexual Harassment Officers
Two Social Justice Officers
Two Student Housing Officers
Two Welfare Officers
Six Directors of Student Publications (DSP)*
Chairperson of the Standing Legal Committee*
The following positions are only open to nomination from representatives of the 97th Council:
Five Executive members*
Two Standing Legal Committee members*
Two Inter-Campus Committee members*
this year has shown how ordinary people have showed solidarity with Palestine. Millions across the world have taken a stance against their governments - this is what needs to continue to happen if we have any chance of stopping the genocide. We encourage all students to attend the protest this Friday at 5:30pm at the US consulate.
Women’s Officers’ Report
Eliza Crossley & Rand Khatib
The Women’s Officers did not submit a report this week.
Interfaith Officers’ Report
Yuchen Li & Khanh Tran
The Interfaith Officers did not submit a report this week.
Refugee Rights Officers’ Report
Daniel Holland, Annabel Pettit, Reeyaa Agrawal & Lucas Pierce
The Refugee Rights Officers did not submit a report this week.
*These position can not be shared (SRC Regulations Part One Section 3d). All other positions may be split ONCE only (Part One Section 3c).
Nominations shall be taken from the floor at the meeting. However, nomination forms may be submitted in advance online at: srcusyd.net.au/elections
Candidates may nominate singly for all positions, and two candidates may submit a joint nomination for all positions, except those positions listed in italics.
Descriptions of positions are found within the Regulations of the SRC available on the SRC website: srcusyd.net.au/about-us/constitution-regulations
PLEASE NOTE: All students nominating for SRC positions MUST be able to attend the compulsory SRC Induction and Training sessions held during the week of 25th - 29th November 2024.
Moving Out & Getting Bond Back
Moving out
If you are currently renting your home and you want to move out you, the steps you need to follow depend on a few details of your situation.
If you are renting from a real estate agent, it is likely that you are a “tenant”.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, you do not need to give any notice. You will need to provide proof of your experience, so talk to an SRC caseworker about how to obtain those documents. Similarly, if you are experiencing “hardship” you may be able to break your lease early without penalty. Get advice from an SRC caseworker.
If not, check your lease for the end date. If that has passed you are considered to be on a “periodic agreement” and need to give at least 21 days notice. If that date has not passed, and you intend to leave on or after the end date, you will need to give at least 14 days notice.
If you want to leave before the end date of your lease, you need to pay a “break fee” as a penalty for not staying for the length of the lease. That fee is the equivalent of 4 weeks rent if the lease is less than 25% completed, 3 weeks if less than 50%, 2 weeks if less than 75%, or 1 week if more than 75%.
If you are not a “tenant” (e.g., your landlord lives with you or you live in a boarding house).
If you have passed the end date of the contract, you should give at least the same period of notice as the frequency you pay rent. For example, if you pay rent weekly then give at least one week notice. If you have not yet passed the end date of the contract, look for instructions in the contract explaining how to move out early. Usually there will be some sort of penalty fee. You can negotiate with your landlord to see if they will reduce your penalty fee if you can provide someone who is willing to replace you.
Ask Abe
SRC Caseworker Help Q&A Exams & Academic Dishonesty
Dear Abe, I don’t know what I’m allowed to use to help me do my exam. Could you please run through this with me?
Thanks
Dear Thanks,
How to give notice.
Notice must be given in writing, preferably through email, so the message cannot be deleted. In your email, include the address of the property, your full name, and the date you would like to leave.
Condition report.
You will be responsible for repairing any damages and leaving the place clean (minus fair wear and tear), compared to the condition of your home before you moved in. When you have moved all your furniture and belongings out, take lots of photos of the walls, ceiling, floors, bathroom, kitchen, etc, to show that you have left the place in good condition. Email these to yourself, so they are date stamped, in case you need to have evidence to get your bond or refund returned.
If you need any advice about your accommodation, contact an SRC caseworker.
If you want to leave before the end date of your lease, you need to pay a “break fee” as a penalty for not staying for the length of the lease. That fee is the equivalent of 4 weeks rent if the lease is less than 25% completed, 3 weeks if less than 50%, 2 weeks if less than 75%, or 1 week if more than 75%.
Take home exams often allow you to use any resources provided you reference what you use. In person exams will have instructions in the subject outline, so check if you
are allowed to bring an approved calculator, an approved linguistic dictionary, or even a sheet of notes. Turn off your phone (off, not on silent) and place it in your bag, together with everything that is in your pockets, then place your bag in the assigned area. You are not allowed to wear headphones in an exam. Breaching any of these exam conditions is likely to lead to an allegation of academic dishonesty or student misconduct, so check the rules before the exam. Abe.
If you need help and advice from an SRC Caseworker, start an enquiry here. bit.ly/contact-a-caseworker
The University defines contract cheating as getting someone to complete part or all of your assessment (hand in or exam). This includes:
• buying an assignment from a tutoring company;
• having a friend complete some of your assessment;
• having someone coach you through an assessment;
• using a model answer from a tutoring website or social media (e.g., facebook or WeChat);
• uploading or downloading lecture notes, assignments or exams to an information sharing site, e.g., CourseHero, Github, CHEGG;
• getting someone to do your exam; or
• submitting an assessment which has been generated in whole or part by artificial intelligence, including ChatGPT. Read the full article: srcusyd.net.au/news/article/6013/what-is-contract-cheating
Weekly quiz
1. The Old Firm is the collective title for which two Scottish football clubs?
2. In ecology, what is a fertile area of a desert often referred to as?
3. Which Peninsula, encompassing the Peloponnese, is bounded by the Adriatic Sea to the west and the Black Sea to the east?
4. What is the twelfth studio album of The Beatles?
5. Actress Zendaya won a Golden Globe Award in 2023 for her role in which television series?
6. What name is given to the period of worsening relations between the PRC and the USSR?
7. This Australian rugby match is played each year between only two states.
8. In what song does Charli XCX “work it out on the remix”?
9. Which rock band takes part of their name from a mass murder-suicide?
10. What connects these answers?
Dusting off the cobwebs
Crossword
Across:
1. Bronze medal-earning basketballers at the Paris Olympics
6. App word after Apple or Google
10. Typing toggle
14. Where one can see it all?
16. Neglect to mention
17. Inflection point in one’s life
18. Overly curious
19. “___ Tafari” (Ethiopian title that a modern religion’s name derives from)
20. Prop for Willem Dafoe in a chase scene in The Grand Budapest Hotel
21. Gives an address, say 23. Word before rain or reflux
25. Purchase encouraged by supermarket snack placement
28. Conversational transition
30. Diphthong-y interjections
31. Iconic Alan Rickman role
32. Animal whose name contains two other animal names
34. Find repulsive
35. Big name in primary school arts & crafts
36. Early riser’s metaphorical reward
37. “Gone ___” (critically panned Joe Pesci comedy of 1997)
40. Combined effect of lunar gravitational pushes and pulls
43. Issuer of star ratings based on a vehicles’ crash-test performances
44. 2024 music documentary named after its subject
45. Slimy critters
47. What Encyclopedia Britannica calls “the nerve cell of the Information Age”
50. Their biggest store worldwide opened on Pitt Street last year
51. Word in a time-sensitive email subject
52. Slangy greeting 54. “So real!”, online
55. Change place?
56. What “Silicon Valley” is a metonym for 59. Patella location
60. Schoolkid’s much-anticipated sound
61. Some Hans Zimmer records, for short 62. Marshall or Fender products
63. In a weird fashion
Down:
1. Four of them make up Wagner’s 15hour “Ring Cycle”
2. Supposed cure-all
3. “Deadpool & Wolverine” character?
4. Porcelain throne
5. Sunscreen bottle stats, in brief
6. Pioneering synthesizer of 1970 that was among the first ever commercially available
7. One might be in the hole or up a sleeve
8. Holey
9. Intimidating sound from a guard dog
10. Scheme involving creating huge amounts of algorithmically-generated video
11. Tiny creatures on slides
12. Big nights out, slangily
13. Total mess
15. Spicy chip that might be Fuego or Blue Heat flavoured
22. Puts forth confidently
24. Camera shots often used to convey queasiness or tension
26. Move-blocking chess manoeuvre
27. To date
29. Orbital path
33. ___ Thorpe Aquatic Center (Ultimo pool)
34. Anonymous surname
36. Passing train sounds
37. ___ Tony (“The Simpsons” mobster)
38. Reduced to debris
39. Cluedo character surname
40. Red Minecraft block
41. Added to via splitscreen, as a TikTok video
42. Deep fried item popular in Chinese-American cuisine
44. Regard
46. With resentment
48. The “I” in IV
49. West Side Story and Twin Peaks actor Tamblyn
53. Capital of South America
55. Boxing ref’s ruling
57. Beijing-based governing body since 1949, in brief
58. Location of the City Circle train line, in brief Answers: 1. Celtic and Rangers
Oasis
Balkan
Let It Be 5. Euphoria 6. Sino-Soviet Split
State
Girl, So Confusing 9. The Brian Jonestown Massacre 10. Feuds
‘Honi Sport’: Honi Soit, 1991, Issue 17.
Crossword: Michael Smith
Always Balanced Coverage
ALBANESE ATTEMPTS
TO MAKE AMENDS
FOR TOURETTES COMMENTS BY SENDING FOUR BILLION DOLLARS TO ISRAEL
After an outburst of ableist language from the Prime Minister at Parliament last Tuesday, Anthony Albanese has attempted to make amends with the disabled community. “It’s a terrible thing, I’m ashamed of it,” Albanese stated at a press conference last Thursday. “It makes me feel sick that I would engage in discrimination of any kind,” he went on to say. “I will do anything to win back the support of my voters. That’s why I am sending four billion dollars to Israel.”
When asked whether this money might better serve the critically underfunded NDIS service, Albanese doubled down. “It’s a travesty that anyone faces discrimination in this country we call home. I simply will not stand for it,” he stated.
“That’s why I am sending four billion dollars to Israel.”
STUDENT POLITICIAN BEELINES TO WEAPONS CONFERENCE AFTER HEARING THERE IS BAR TAB AND FOOD
EXCLUSIVE WITH STRAVA CEO: ‘RUNNERS HIGH IS THE OPIATE OF THE MASSES’
YORGOS LANTHIMOS: “HOW COULD IT BE ‘VIOLENTLY MISOGYNISTIC’ IF EMMA ROBERTS IS IN IT?”
JACK BLACK DISASSOCIATES FROM MINECRAFT MOVIE CO-STAR ‘CREEPER’ AFTER HISTORY OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM RESURFACES
YOUNG LABOR MAN ACCIDENTALLY ASKS PROSPECTIVE DATE OUT WITH “IF YOU’RE NOT AT THE TABLE YOU’RE ON THE MENU”
TRIP TO ITALY SUBSTITUTED FOR BEING LET LOOSE IN LEICHHARDT PANETTA WITH A HUNDIE BILL
