We acknowledge Farrago is created on land that always has and always will belong to the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nations. This land is stolen and sovereignty was never ceded, and no acknowledgement is enough to give it back. We pay our respects to elders past, present and future, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people who have been sharing stories and making art longer than anyone in the world. We thank readers for picking up our magazine and listening to what we have to say, and urge you to actively seek out, and listen to, the people whose land you exist on too.

In the week leading up to sending this mag to print, each of the editors had a work-related stress dream. Caro dreamt she brought her cat to work and lost it, and woke to her boyfriend asking what she was snacking on during the night because she’d been audibly grinding her teeth. Ruby dreamt she hated the cover so she ripped it off, scrunched it up into a ball and ate it (obviously this premonition didn’t come true—Stephanie Nestor’s cover is so special Ruby cried when she saw the draft). Steph dreamt we went to election week without Media candidates for 2020 and without having made any magazines this year. Katie dreamt [redacted]. (N.B. It was a bit dark.)

Regardless of the stress it caused us, we’re so proud of all of the content in here. Find the dirt in Medha Vernekar’s exploration into the University’s sustainability policies (pg. 17), or read your peers’ concerns about an insulated Parkville community in Alison Ford and Alain Nguyen’s piece (pg. 15). Steph really wants you to read the news section, it’s so important to stay informed about what’s happening around campus! In nonfiction, Dan Crowley draws together the joy of summer and the horrors of capitalism in a call to nationalise Cricket Australia (pg. 34), and Lindsay Wong looks at the tremendous impact of ‘subtle asian traits’ (pg. 30). Carly Stone’s short story ‘How to Stand Still’ (pg. 50) made Ruby cry every single read (she’s Very Emotional okay), and Tiia Kelly’s poem ‘I’m a Poorly-Rated Sitcom Doctor and I Still Love You’ (pg. 56) is the perfect mix of angst and satire. Check out Freya McLeod’s cowboy art that looks like a rock album from the 80s (pg. 38), and Raymond Wu’s white dude finding out what “”discrimination”” is (pg. 19).

We poured lots of liquid into this mag, much sweat and many tears. Mostly because it was summer and we’re all depressed. What a whirlwind, what a toll on our mental health. Nah, but we really are so thankful for the opportunity to put this bad boy together. We’re also thankful for Mitski. And for Tim, UMSU’s new resident kitty. We once spent a whole day watching him peer out of a cardboard box in our office. And for our massive iMacs, on which we watch videos of rabbit jumping competitions in HD (except Katie, hers is broken).

Catch ya next edition,

Ruby, Katie, Caro and Steph

P.S. To our collective mums: we’re fine, don’t worry about it. Love you <3

P.P.S. Fine? In this economy??