my year on the dance floor
Drowning in the weight of becoming, nobody could have guessed the simple noise it left ringing in our ears.
Muslim MLS Student Accuses Faculty of Intimidation
Melbourne Law School (MLS) student X* has accused the MLS of misusing its power through intimidation and silencing. This accusation arose after his attempts at raising concerns with the Associate Dean and submitting an open letter to the Law students newspaper De Minimis. The article criticised what he saw as the MLS’s failure to address structural issues Muslim students face in the legal community.
Sex and Stigma
Your first casual sex experience. The back of a car. Classy. You never liked random hook ups in clubs and you’re frankly bemused by the whole experience. Sex had always been an intimate act; not anymore. The second time is better, you like him, you date a few weeks, you’re replaced. It gets easier each time.
Federal Election Coverage 2019
Welcome to Farrago's coverage of the 2019 federal election.
Campus
Students walk out of class to demand “climate action now”
12 August 2019Hundreds of students from across Melbourne walked out of class on Friday August 9 to demand action on climate change. Students from the University of Melbourne, Monash, RMIT and other universities gathered outside the State Library despite heavy rain and windy conditions.
Edition Five Editorial
11 August 2019The campus has been a ghost town the last couple of months while we were putting Edition 5 together. It’s our busiest time of year right now with lots of media-related projects on the go—so a little bit of peace and quiet was probably necessary—but we’re so excited to have people in and out of the office asking us for stuff again with the new semester commencing. If you find yourself in Union House, come and say hello sometime! The media space and office is on Level 4, and our door is always open if you ever want to chat about getting involved or even just hang out or study with other like-minded media fanatics. And we’ve got a big, fuck off heater up here, and many teabags, so we can promise it’ll be a very cosy time.
Alt-Right? Academics Break Ranks Over Ramsay Centre
8 August 2019Academics at the University of Wollongong (UoW) are speaking out against the institution’s newest Arts major. There has already been major controversy over the unusual fast-track approval of the course, which will be privately funded by the Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation.
Diversity Issues in UMSU International
8 August 2019On 13th May 2019, the University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) International elected a new committee which will lead the union from
August 2019 to July 2020. This year’s newly elected committee continues the trend of previous years’ of having dominance by students from South
East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. To Farrago’s understanding, every member of the current committee is from Asia.
Mudfest Regeneration from August 21-28
8 August 2019The University’s biennial student-run arts festival Mudfest will run August 21-28.
Nonfiction
For & Against: Baths
11 August 2019FOR by Catriona Smith Picture this: you’ve come home after a long hard day at uni and you have sore muscles and you want to relax. You lounge back in the bath with a good skin treatment, a glass of wine and a book. This level of comfort cannot be achieved in the shower. Baths […]
Regulating Language
11 August 2019Because of the cumulative effects of assimilation over many generations, Ainu’s uniqueness is in danger of being lost forever. There are only a handful of native speakers left—perhaps as few as fifteen—and all of them are elderly. While there is a much higher number of second-language speakers with varying degrees of fluency, without concerted efforts to protect it, Ainu’s chances of survival are, sadly, quite low.
Double Take
11 August 2019Growing up, my childhood had been relatively whitewashed, with my family immigrating to England a little before my second birthday. I was anxious about whether or not I would be accepted by my extended family, the majority of whom I had no memory of. What if nobody could understand my heavily accented Hindi? What if nobody even wanted to talk to me?
The History of the Dildo
11 August 2019Ever wonder how ancient humans passed all those cold nights in stony caves, or when we realised a little added buzz could go a long way? Well, welcome to the history lesson they’re still refusing to teach. From forgotten literary works to surprising archaeological discovers, it’s clear our ancestors were getting down with their bad selves long before Christian Grey. So, without further ado, let’s jump in our time machine and get ready for the ride of our lives. It’s time to learn about the D™.
Kiss and Tell
11 August 2019Pine. Verb. Erund or present participle: pining • Miss or long for. “She’s still pining for them” I’ve never pined for someone. I think pining for someone is a complete waste of time and energy. Oh, you’re hurt? Well, suck it up. It’s not the end of the world. It happens, you know? Break ups. […]
Creative
The Remarkable Quests of Raddish and Quill: The Sea-Venture
6 August 2019The University of Melbourne’s Creative Literature and Writing Society present The Remarkable Quests of Raddish and Quill, a collaborative column for Farrago.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Exile
6 August 2019Background. Lying in bed later, gazing at the ceiling and feeling suddenly nauseated, I realised it wasn’t at all the correct spatial metaphor. Centre, I thought, was more accurate. Or, just, Beginning, Middle, End.
Lemon or Lime
6 August 2019It was your birthday drinks last time her arm was around you. It’s only been three weeks since then, you were in Fitzroy at yet another rooftop bar, basking in the suburban sunset. Your gift came in a plastic shopping bag.
The Fairytale Gazette
6 August 2019After damning allegations that Red Riding Hood left her missing grandmother to fend for herself in the woods, she has now pronounced that her grandmother has been found dead at the edge of the woods.
Culture
Review: X-Men: Dark Phoenix
25 July 2019Returning to the Dark Phoenix Saga 13 years after X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Dark Phoenix is tasked with retelling the Jean Grey story in a manner that is sufficiently fresh and respectful to the series’ first attempt, all the while winning the approval of new and dedicated fans.
Review: Normal People
24 July 2019In this sense, Normal People isn’t a groundbreaking story. It’s a story about all of these things—life, love, change, and coexistence—about which story after story have already been written. It grounds these ideas in four turbulent years of late adolescence and early adulthood, imperfect and unforgettable all at the same time.
Review: Dedicated
24 July 2019For a singer who is largely known by her one-off viral hits and saxophone-riffs-made-into-memes, Carly Rae Jepsen is remarkably serious about her craft.
Review: Come From Away
24 July 2019Come From Away is an exploration of community and hope. Taking place in Gander, Newfoundland, the musical tells the true stories of 38 diverted planes on September 11 2001 and the days that followed. The Melbourne show’s 12 person cast delves into a series of characters – townsfolk and plane people – who share fears and hopes alike. The show will make you laugh and cry.
Review: serpentwithfeet
17 June 2019This stripped-back set allowed for an immensely intimate performance where nothing else mattered besides the otherworldly falsetto voice onstage, and the introspective artist it belonged to.