Federal Election Coverage 2019
Welcome to Farrago's coverage of the 2019 federal election.
Staff and students protest casualisation
University of Melbourne staff and students protested against the increasing casualisation of staff today in front of the Raymond Priestly Building.
What Happens Next?
It’s a Friday night and your day has been a little too straight. Luckily Netflix has that LGBTQ section to fix things up. For the next hour and a half, one of the worst films you will ever see in your life flickers across the screen. It can only be one of the worst, since you would have faced the same problem last Tuesday. Queer cinema is a mess.
Detik-Detik
Detik pertama, I was drowning and the world softened, an egg dipped in vinegar.
Campus
Further supports for queer students at Newman College
24 June 2019The University of Melbourne’s Newman College has taken steps towards greater inclusivity of its queer students, with efforts being made to improve their wellbeing and representation.The Dean of Newman, Genevieve Leach, has been a resident counsellor at the college for over a year, and oversaw the formation of a queer group for Newman students. She was also involved in updating the college’s student conduct policy.
Federal Election Wrap-Up
20 June 2019The democracy sausages have been sizzled and the votes have been cast, the polls reflected the perceived hopes of the nation and the Coalition roundly smashed these to the ground. Scott Morrison has done the unthinkable, after the disastrous LibSpill of 2018 he has recaptured the support of many Australians to become Prime Minister, once again, although this time through the decision of ordinary voters around the country.
UM… What? A comprehensive guide to the history of our Student Union
18 June 2019For over 130 years, UMSU has been the heart of student life at the University of Melbourne. The history of the Union is heavily entwined with activism, radical politics and power struggles. Delving into the archives offers a detailed reflection of the issues facing students throughout the decades. Even the soon-to-be demolished Union House has layers of history hidden in plain sight: from anti-conscription barricades and police raids, to refugees avoiding deportation in a back room.
Milam v University of Melbourne
17 June 2019Botched management of alleged misconduct by a recently- appointed Head of School has forced the University of Melbourne into a legal battle in the Australian Federal Court.
Appointed in April 2017, Professor Jennifer Milam, an art historian, took up her term as Head of the School of Culture and Communication on 1 January, 2018, but was suspended with full pay in late January this year following two colleagues’ allegations of academic misconduct.
Radical Education Week Recap
17 June 2019The University of Melbourne Student Union (UMSU) Environment Collective held their third successive Radical Education Week during Week 7, from April 15 to 18. The week was a cross-campus event exploring radical ideas about education within and beyond the classroom.
Nonfiction
Mythologies
17 June 2019It has become more or less axiomatic that if women want to achieve equality in our time, we must first strip ourselves bare—revealing our worst shames, heartaches and sins so that we may be seen as utterly human. To be a woman in public these days is—more often than not—to be in the business of confession.
The Meaning of Wilderness
17 June 2019The word ‘wilderness’ conjures images of towering trees, forest paths, bubbling brooks and open skies. There are no buildings, no signs of human habitation, and there is a stillness or silence punctuated only by the wind, birdsong or animals scampering over leaf litter. This form of wilderness is linked to a longing for a life that is more in touch with the natural world. At the same time, this wilderness, in its emphasis on pristine, untouched nature, excludes human beings. How can we exist in wilderness if our very presence alters it and makes it less wild?
A Pocket Of Peace In The Australian Bushland
11 June 2019I’ve found that my anxiety lessens on bushwalks. Standing still, the cool breeze against my skin, able to hear birds, frogs, and the rustle of leaves in the wind. I am able to free myself of societal constraints, prejudice and discrimination.
Am I Doing It Right?
11 June 2019Front-man Georgia Maq closed Camp Cope’s Falls Festival 2017 act demanding that 2018 be the year that minorities take to the forefront of the music scene. As I stood on the grass field, surrounded by hundreds of fans applauding this controversial statement—their song The Opener takes aim at the exclusionary nature of the industry with lines such as “yeah just get a female opener, that’ll fill the quota” and “it’s another straight cis man who knows more about this than me”—I found myself wondering about the experience of being a gay woman in such an environment.
Diaspora Dilemmas
4 June 2019Imagine being one-quarter Sindhi, one-quarter Bengali, one-quarter Tamil and one-quarter Telegu and not being able to speak any of the languages from these areas. Imagine being the colour of a perfectly blended hot chocolate from Standing Room, but sounding like a cup of tea with almost a whole bottle of milk poured in.
Creative
The Remarkable Quests of Raddish and Quill: The Spontaneous Flight to Iceland
20 June 2019The University of Melbourne’s Creative Literature and Writing Society present The Remarkable Quests of Raddish and Quill, a collaborative column for Farrago.
This is a story about a woman eating her husband’s liver.
20 June 2019I want to say that death is just a wound things grow around and that I Miss the way the world tasted back then, before life touched me like that, Cold Finger pressed to my Tongue; hurts like freezer-burn, tastes like freezer-burn.
Masters Hold a Meeting Over Wine
20 June 2019“Do you have wine?” Rebuffed inquired in a raspy voice.“No,” replied Oost. “Why? Should I?”Rebuffed inclined her head. “I just assumed.”Oost was silent for a time, perplexed. Rebuffed filled the space: “You know. Since we’re here.”
History
20 June 2019is the truant in my sheets / barely sixteen / I am / telling fibs to stay home with my thoughts / with my feet tucked in the pockets of sleep /
Flash Fiction: Periods
20 June 2019100-words-or-less pieces about periods for Farrago 2019 Edition 4.
Culture
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.
Review: Conrad Sewell
8 June 2019By 7pm, there was already a spate of eager concert-goers, lining the paint filled Hosier Lane.By 8pm, the mosh pit was filling up.
Review: Joanne Burns’ apparently
7 June 2019Even flipping through the collection days later. I feel a sense of strangeness, like I haven’t uncovered all the paths into Burns’ mind. This is a powerful strength of hers, you will not look at the same sentence the same way twice.
Review: Sometimes Always Never
7 June 2019Sometimes Always Never is at its best when it stays true to its core. It is a simple narrative. One that is hardly resolved and has no beginning, middle and end in the larger scheme of things. But it is a wonderful character analysis. An amazing exploration of love, despair and hope.
Review: El Vito!
7 June 2019Never did I think the question, “Ever had a dream?” and all the self-doubt and fear of rejection which comes with that question, would be so aptly summed up for me by a one-woman operatic show. Mari-Poša, mezzo-soprano, known simply on stage as Maria, delivers a soulful and vocally powerful performance in El Vito!, performed in Melbourne CBD’s quirky and cool Butterfly Club, accompanied by the heartfelt talents of pianist Julian Wade.