Week Thirteen Semester Two 2013 Honi Soit Honi
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week thirteen semester two 2013 honi soit honi Syria: Damascus is Burning p 12 Take a walk on the wild side p 14 Opinion competition winners p 18 Unigate Awards p 27 voices from the fringe DISCONTENTS Washington DC in Unseen, unheard, unwritten 4 the USSC In 2013, we’ve brought you ideas big It’s easy to underestimate a weekly society, have little contact with the out- Tim Anderson and small, new and old, left and right, student newspaper with a circulation side world, and are often ostracised but when it comes down to it, the one of 4000. We don’t have the reach or the upon their release for having a criminal thing we have not done is shy away from resources of bigger publications and record. Their voices, perpetually, are Faces behind the being shamelessly political. news outlets. Nor do we have the ability silenced. Which part of this process is 7 rhetoric Voicing dissent, critically engaging to influence social discourse on a regu- “correctional”? Astha Rajvanshi with the status quo and consistently lar basis like the mainstream media does More than half of this week’s paper is reporting on inherently political issues (vagina incidents aside). But we cater to written by women. Considering the per- like the staff strikes represent a robust a decidedly different sector of the popu- petual underrepresentation of women in The kindness of student voice, not a corrupt machine. lation and this is a privilege as much as it news publications, this is an important, 9 strangers Many may disagree with the death of is a restriction. relevant, and local instance of hearing Patrick Horton objectivity, but why be objective when Honi is uniquely positioned to shine the very voices which are the minority in you can be honest? a light into the University’s sewers and mainstream media. There’s a brutal honesty to this final tunnels, to be a place of refuge for We won’t pretend to give a platform Breaking the cycle edition of Honi Soit, the paper you hold voices from the fringe. In 23 editions, for the account of every silenced person 10 of victim blaming in your hands. Continuing our tradition we have told your stories, and ours too. – every voice from the fringe – but here Anonymous of focussing on the marginalised voices One woman, who was sexually are a few: seen, heard, written. of the people who walk among us, we assaulted in college earlier this year, urge you to rub your weary eyes and went on to suffer untold trauma. The Damascus is burning read between the lines. act occurred in the aftermath of a 12 Alex Downie Throughout the years, Honi has fos- drunken initiation ritual, and remained tered a culture of civil disobedience unspoken of until now. She has finally and social critique. This week’s ticker found a voice in a personal recount on tape consists of stand-out headlines page 10, albeit one that is still cautious Honi Soit Opinion from previous editions of Honi. Some about speaking out against the institu- 18 Competition winners of them are hilariously pertinent (find: tion which simultaneously made a vic- the one about campus food), while oth- tim out of her and denied even mere ers deliver shocking insights into the acknowledgement of her suffering. Mariana Podesta-Diverio minds of our alumni predecessors (see: Our justice system places individu- and Xiaoran Shi THE SOIN “Democracy was always a stupid idea”, als behind bars for breaking the law 26 1990). (page 17). Prisoners are secluded from Editors-in-chief Editors-in-chief: Mariana “MPD” Podesta-Diverio and Xiaoran “X” Shi Editors: Rafi “Pound the alarm” Alam, Bryant “Brian” Apolonio, Max “Chalmy” Chalmers, Avani “Avadavadoo” Dias, Nick “Rowbocop” Row- botham, Hannah “SULS” Ryan, Nina “Baldy” Ubaldi, Lucy “L-Dubya” Watson. Reporters: Ben Brooks, Alex Downie, Andre Fenby, Joseph Istiphan, Georgia Kriz, Stella Ktenas, Grace Lin, Ellen O’Brien, Sean O’Grady, Shannen Potter, Astha Rajvanshi, Tom Raue, Cameron Smith, Caitlin Still, Harry Stratton, Matilda Surtees, Isobel Yeap, Evan Van Zijl. Contributors: Tim Anderson, Milly Ellen, Patrick Horton, Daniel Swain, Peter Walsh. Photographers and cartoonists: Mikaela Bartels, Stella Ktenas, Rose McEwen, James Lawler Duggan. Cover: Alexandra Mildenhall Mega Crossword: Dover Dubosarsky WOULD YOU RATHER... Ticker tape: Funny/weird/awesome headlines from (mainly) Have hairdryers for hands? ‘80s and ‘90s editions of Honi Soit The editors of Honi Soit and the SRC OR acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. Have to blend all your food Honi Soit is written, printed, and distributed for eternity? on Aboriginal land. If you are holding this FAQ: newspaper, you are standing on Aboriginal Hairdryers for hands sounds land. Recognise and respect this. great. Doesn’t that mean I would have voluptuous locks 24/7? Want to place an advertisement in Honi Soit ? Contact Amanda LeMay & Jess Henderson at [email protected] Yes, but hairdryers for hands = no Honi Soit is published by the Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney, Level 1 Wen- hands to hold hairbrush in. So think tworth Building, City Road, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006. The SRC’s operation costs, space and voluptuous rat’s nest. administrative support are financed by the University of Sydney.Honi Soit is printed under the auspices of the SRC’s Directors of Student Publications: Clare Angel-Auld, Adam Chalmers, Bebe D’Souza, Brigitte Garozzo, James O’Doherty, Lane Sainty. All expressions are published on the basis that they Will I even have to blend, like, are not to be regarded as the opinions of the SRC unless specifically stated. The Council accepts no steak and three veg? responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions or information contained within this newspaper, nor does it endorse any of the advertisements and insertions. Printed by MPD, Unit E1 46-62 Maddox St. Alexandria NSW 2015. Yes. Mmm, lumpy steak smoothie. The new protein shake! @honi_soit http://www.facebook.com/honisoitsydney letters many more of my friends indulge, but ally made it to university. Which is why the stigma around it makes talking about I think it’s important to consider break- it comfortably (and soberly) pretty dif- ing free of the dominant culture at the ficult. Anonymous wrote about how she university which squawks that success is SOUND& struggles to find porn interesting, but a cadetship or a grad-job. Breaking free the struggle I (and a couple of friends) of this can bring many rewards, just as have is finding good porn. There’s breaking free of the culture at my pri- an awful lot of shitty, demeaning and mary and high schools did for me. fury frankly un-arousing stuff out there. This isn’t, of course, for everyone. I’ve wasted countless hours trying to But we should all at least consider this find decent, stylised, female-friendly option of being free from lecturers and for the entire 5,537 students that voted porn. Tumblr and Reddit are the stan- free from bosses. Free to be yourself. this year or the 4,873 that went to the dard options, Anonymous might find Don’t just let the squawking bird deafen polls in 2012. Correction something a little more sensual and to you. It’s a lesson in the university of life As such, I propose two constitutional her tastes there. Even with these, find- that many, like me, missed from not tak- Last week, we wrote that the USU amendments to address both these ing anything more than pictures and gifs ing a gap year after school. And I’m as had passed on “the personal details of issues, in accordance with s 16 of the can be difficult if you don’t want to pay. excited for it as I was going into my first members to the USUAF”. We have been University of Sydney Union’s Constitu- Tumblr has links to seem very well pro- lecture all the way back in 2010. informed that this is not true, rather, the tion.The first being that election for the duced queer porn too, which is always USUAF sent the USU the email, which Drew Rooke executive is opened up to the public, enjoyable and empowering, a rare com- was then distributed on their behalf Arts IV concurrent to the election of new board bination. I ask her not to shy away from through the member mail. Honi Soit sin- directors in May. I hope this amendment her capitalist dream of making porn: do cerely apologises for the mistake. would, at a bare minimum, encourage it! Make some good porn and link me, if the current directors to either stick to you find Game of Thrones more arous- their promises or propose realistic plans ing than a woman asking a man to ejacu- at the time of their election. It would late on her glasses, I trust your artistic judgement. An Open Letter to the USU also hopefully ensure that executive appointments are based on merit and Anonymous A lot of words have been written their accomplishments in office (and Arts IV about the attempted sacking of the Vice their ability to communicate those suc- President of the University of Sydney cesses to the public), rather than on any A message from next year’s editors: Union (USU), Tom Raue, in the pages deals they make. Happy birthday to me of this paper and on social media. It has Hi eds (and SUBW), Honi Soit 2014 is on the lookout for alternately been described as a storm in And second, that the constitution be reporters, writers, photographers and a teacup and the death knell of democ- amended to provide for a ratification Just a teeny request - November 20 is artists.