UMSU Election Overview
Review: Meet the Mullets
Queer Online Birthday in Quarantine
Florence Price, Delia Derbyshire & Wendy Carlos
Welcome to Canon in She, a column about female composers of Western classical music, and a few major trailblazers in electronic music as well. Today, I present three brilliant women from the 20th century.
Campus
Our Stories in Numbers: The representation of victim survivors in the National Student Safety Survey
17 September 2021cw: mentions of sexual assault and harassment, institutional neglect From 6 September to 3 October, Universities Australia—the country’s peak corporate body of higher education—is running the National Student Safety Survey (NSSS). Conducted by Dr. Anastasia Powell (RMIT), and the Social Research Centre, the survey is aimed at “encouraging students to share about their experiences of […]
Presidential Candidate Profile: Sophie Nguyen
2 September 2021Meet Sophie Nguyen (she/her), the presidential candidate for Stand Up! Following a huge swing away from Stand Up! at last year’s election, the ticket has made an effort to diversify itself and adapt its campaign strategies to a virtual space. If elected, Nguyen is determined to boost student engagement with the Union, particularly online. Farrago […]
Presidential Candidate Profile: Archit Agrawal
30 August 2021(content warning: sexism) Meet Archit Agrawal, the presidential candidate for Community. Following an unsuccessful campaign last year for UMSU’s president role, Agrawal is committed to centering student voices, particularly those of international students like himself. While Community held the vast majority of UMSU offices and positions this year, Agrawal says the ticket will continue to […]
Presidential Candidate Profile: Emma Dynes
29 August 2021content warning: racism Meet Emma Dynes (she/her), the UMSU presidential candidate for Left Action! Her main aim as president is to establish an activist presence within UMSU, and fight back against the Right, both off and on campus. Dynes is deeply involved in activism both on a national and international scale and believes that solidarity […]
Presidential Candidate Profile: Ezra Bangun
28 August 2021Meet Ezra Bangun, the presidential candidate for VVholesome, a ticket “for memes and fun that wants UMSU to be better”. Farrago sat down with Bangun to find out more about their presidential campaign in the upcoming UMSU Elections and their vision for the Union in 2022. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. […]
Nonfiction
Fangirls and Fantasies: Why we Love to Hate Twilight
3 June 2021It’s 2008: the era of galaxy-print leggings and Club Penguin. The radio incessantly plays Katy Perry’s ‘I Kissed A Girl’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay. Lounging on your bed after school, you flip through the glossy pages of Seventeen magazine, fanatically poring over the pale, golden-eyed Robert Pattinson and the bashful Kristen Stewart. Adapted […]
on worth
23 April 2021I measure my worth in the number of meetings I attend, in the number of responses I get in my 9am sociology class, and in how many people have liked my latest Instagram poem. When I feel my back start to crack, I tell myself —“one more reading and you can rest”, and then one […]
Still a Love Story, Only More
23 April 2021In the backseat of my family’s old sedan, the air was warm in spite of the blasting air conditioning. I leaned against the window, scanning the houses we passed by. The weekend was so close that I could’ve grasped it between my fingers. At eight years old, a lot of things looked brand new. At […]
Curly Hair: An Analysis
23 April 2021“Your hair is so cool! Can I feel it?” These are words I have grown accustomed to hearing throughout my entire life. Growing up in a predominantly white community, my mixed-race curly hair was seen as somewhat of a novelty. Friends, teachers at school, other adults and passersby all seemed to be drawn towards it. […]
The Little Things: a Partly Solved Mystery
23 April 2021When I was younger, the saying, “it’s the little things in life,” used to both annoy and confuse me. As adults would patiently explain, the smallest moments—another leaf sprouting from a houseplant, slipping into crisp, clean bed sheets—were the stuffing of life. The sustenance, the good stuff—the point, really. These wise explanations fell on deaf […]
Creative
War for the Planet of the Apes: Review
26 May 2021I have lovely memories associated with this film, so I hope I don’t sound dramatic when I say it’s the greatest work of art in the history of cinema. I concede this is a bold statement, but my reasoning is sound. Matt Reeves’ stunning science-fiction epic, War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), is […]
Parasite: Review
5 May 2021It’s incredible to think how much joy and destruction one small family can inflict. Bong Joon-ho’s dark comedy thriller Parasite (2020) is held together by a strong cast and slick directing, and the take-home message is clear: bonding with your family causes death. I feel I reserve the right to criticise this cynical view of […]
milkbar
30 April 2021content warning: violence. it starts in the middle of the milkbar with me staring at the lolly wall, the colourful sweets locked inside their plastic compartments, allowed freedom only by their little scoopers and the hands of sweet-toothed teens – the freckles, the gummy babies, the milk bottles, the snakes – and i’m thinking of […]
The World of Dragons: The Gnawing Tree Dragon
26 April 2021“Níðhöggr lived beneath the great tree Yggdrasil. He gnawed on its roots, growing bigger each day. The roots were so tangled that they twisted around his body; the more he ate, the bigger he became; the bigger he became, the more the roots curled around him, trapping him where he lay. And from where he […]
An Artist’s Struggle
2 April 2021And on a hot, 33-degree day She sat in her room And wrote half a play. It wasn’t very good But it wasn’t very bad Yet she knew in her heart that really she had let herself down, left it too last minute. There were barely any scenes or characters in it. “But it’s experimental! […]
Culture
Review: No Document— a novel or a puzzle?
24 May 2021No Document is a non-fiction essay by Anwen Crawford about power in the face of human suffering. Through her own experiences of losing a close friend, interwoven with political disseminations, Anwen Crawford attempts to unravel her pain and explore loss in the form of artworks, film and protest. From the first page, Crawford shocks and […]
Review: No Hat No Play! The Cabaret
22 May 2021Picture this, you’re in Year 6. You’re at the top of the primary school food chain. You’re trying your best to rock that polyester-cotton primary colour and brown uniform for your final year until you hit… duh duh duhhhh… teenagerhood. No Hat No Play! The Cabaret was all nostalgia, bringing together all the types of […]
Review: On the Origin of Faeces
22 May 2021Science comedian Alanta Colley’s “On the Origin of Faeces” is a joyous reflection on her relationship with poo, a wonderful evening of refreshing but somehow never crass comedy. A handbell signalled the start of the show as we took our seats in the cosy theatre of Melbourne’s famous Butterfly Club. As this was my first […]
Review: Love Objects
17 May 2021Author: Emily Maguire Publisher: Allen & Unwin Year: 2021 Category: Contemporary Women’s Fiction/Drama Endearing, from the heart. Forty-five-year-old Nic seems to be on top of it all. She is living in her inherited family home (much to the chagrin of her estranged sister), has a stable job in a local supermarket which she has held […]
Review: Tsarina –a dazzling glimpse into the mad world of Russian autocracy
17 May 2021Year: 2021 Publisher: Bloomsbury Price: $29.99 As described by the acclaimed historical fiction writer Daisy Goodwin, the 500-page mammoth of a book Tsarina “makes Game of Thrones look like a nursery rhyme,” as it follows the thrilling tale of Catherine the First of Russia. Full disclosure, I haven’t read Game of Thrones, but I […]