One of the main reasons the media exists, and Farrago exists, is the hope that our writing might change things for the better. It’s also important that the news media presents a balanced story, and some argue that balanced media doesn’t try to do anything—only disseminate information. But if we’re not trying to change things, or equip people with the knowledge to try to change things, what’s the point?

We’re not always as impartial as we could be. At the end of the day, journalists are just people. Balance means considering and critiquing all sides, but not giving them equal weight if one side is deeply flawed. This doesn’t mean inserting opinion into news articles or cherry-picking quotes from sources you disagree with, but it does mean telling the story in a way which is both factual and honest.

Often when we report on a story it’s because there’s been wrongdoing, or something isn’t right. But we won’t tell you what to think, we’ll give you the information you need to make up your own mind. Our job is to decide what stories to report on, what stories matter. Journalists deciding which stories are important sounds biased, but we can’t cover everything, and people can’t read everything.

We had an article for this edition that we knew would be legally risky, but we believed that it mattered. The article was blocked by the University of Melbourne Student Union, the union which publishes this magazine. We understand why they didn’t want to take the risk, but we’re still disappointed. We had hoped that we could change things through our reporting. I still think that we can, whether it’s with regards to that particular story or other ones. I still think that student voices hold a lot of weight. So whether you’re a journalist, an activist, or just a student, use your voice to stand up for what you believe in. It’s hard to gauge how much of an impact our voices have, but what else have we got?

Speaking of activism, in the campus section Yan Zhuang reports on the latest endeavours of anti-military campus group Lockout Lockheed (8). In the spirit of good-natured campus debate, Louis Devine goes up against the Lockout Lockheed collective in ‘For and Against: Lockout Lockheed’ (76). Also in the campus section, Lucy Williams and Stephanie Zhang talk to students about how safe they feel safe on campus, and what they think needs to change (13).

In the nonfiction section, Matilda Carnegie runs us through ‘A Day in the Life of a Deaf Student’ (22), and Rebecca Fowler’s sprawling four-page creative nonfiction piece, ‘Flystrike’ (40), tells the story of a vet student who experienced some pretty fucked up shit while on a prac, and was failed by her university when she needed help.

In the creative section, check out the dynamic, chaotic ‘McFuck It’ (71) by Tharidi Walimunige and Jacinta Dowe’s muchanticipated sequel to their original fanfiction: ‘Crazy Steve Rodgers Part 2: Bucky and I are getting married!’ (72).

This is a special edition of Farrago which contains a photography section, featuring fantastic work by Sherlyne Jennifer, Jess Herne, Nikhilesh Chaudhari, Christopher Hon Sum Ling, Derrick Duan, Rakesh Gill, Qaisara Mohamad, Alain Nguyen, Maggy Liu, Rachel Morley, Blake Tang, Zoë Alford, Troy Cameron, Sherry Aine Te, Supassara Tripun, Wen Qiu and Ilsa Harun (49–56).

Enjoy reading this edition of Farrago, and remember to always speak your truth.

Ashleigh, Esther, Jesse, Monique