Week 13, Semester 1, 2014 HONI SOIT TOUCH ONE, TOUCH ALL Legal aid p.10 funding cuts Arcade p.15 under fire ILLUSTRATION BY MACKENZIE NIX SAlt of the Earth CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 Astha Rajvanshi and Tom Gardner investigate the meteoric rise of Socialist Alternative at USyd and beyond. “Would you like to sign our petition the world not through running in said third year Arts student and SAlt Many speculate that the siblings against the education cuts?” elections, but rather by empowering member Anna Sanders-Robinson. were “parachuted in” from Monash people to “get out on the streets to University, as directed by an internal Student activists wearing ‘Fuck Tony fight for themselves”. Formed in 1995, SAlt has branches hierarchy within SAlt’s National Abbott’ shirts often approach the set up across Australia with an active Council, to recruit and expand the average student frequenting Fisher On campus, they regularly organise membership from the far left of the membership. library with this friendly request. protests, campaigns, and weekly political spectrum. They regularly They usually set up a stall on Eastern discussion groups around the history advocate for issues including same-sex The two have since been heavily Avenue with a hand-painted banner and theory of revolutionary socialism. marriage rights, refugee rights and involved in the Education Action hanging off the edge of the table. Following the Abbott government’s Palestinian liberation. Last March, Group (EAG), a cross-factional Copies of the fortnightly newspaper recent cuts to Australian tertiary SAlt merged with the Revolutionary education activism collective. The Red Flag are sold alongside a wide education, they’ve sought to revive the Socialist Party (RSP) on a national They, among others, were active collection of books, newspapers and old ways of activism that defined the level, leading to a surge in their participants in last year’s NTEU pamphlets on Marxism. sixties and seventies. membership. strikes against staff cuts. At the end of 2013, SAlt occupied the education These are members of Sydney Most SAlt members are Marxists SAlt, in its current form, was revived portfolio of the National Union of University branch of Socialist who are strongly disillusioned by on campus at the beginning of last Students (NUS) across the country. Alternative (SAlt), a revolutionary the current political system. “I year, allegedly by siblings Omar SAlt member Sarah Garnham was Australian socialist organisation. found [SAlt’s] analysis of the world and Ridah Hassan. Omar Hassan, elected to the position of National –that capitalism is a system that who joined Socialist Alternative in Education Officer, Chloe Rafferty to They hold strong anti-capitalist views privileges profits over people– as the late 2007, said, “I was considering NSW Education Officer, and Ridah that identify with Trotskyism and only analysis … that explains to me joining the anarchists, but was turned Hassan and Eleanor Morley (who was the Marxist tradition of “socialism entirely what is wrong with the world off by their lifestylism and cliquey recruited later) to Education Officers from below”. They believe in changing and how to overcome these problems,” behaviour”. at the Sydney University Student Representative Council (SRC). 3 Letters 17 International Students’ Column LETTERS 4-5 News recap for those living under a rock 18 E12 schools 6 More news! Newer news! 19 A letter to Ian Thorpe there. They ignore you completely. They pretend they cannot hear you. You are not 7 The Manning Files 20 Of (lab) mice and men A word from even acknowledged as a human being. You REPORTER CALL-OUT Contents 8 SAlt and spice 21 SRC Help Caccamo are a ghost. HONI SOIT 9 Profile: Anna Bligh 22-23 SRC Office Bearer Reports Dear Honi, Now imagine that, every day, for hours Can you wield a pen? Lots of ISSUE #12 10-11 Feature: Cuts to the Aboriginal Legal Service 24 Puzzles on end, for up to three weeks. It’s enough Thank you for your diligent reporting of to make people sob, it’s enough to cause 12-13 Coverage of the USU Executive elections 25 Survey Results! the post-election complaint process between breakdowns, it is the only thing that has spare time? Sick of only writing myself and Liam Carrigan. As I made clear ever made me feel truly depressed. 14 Race and film in the USA 26-27 Honey Soy to the Returning Officer, it would have letters? Apply to write for us! 15 We (can’t) exist: on trans* representation 28 Meet Dom “A Fucking Winner” Ellis, winner been better for the RO to have made their Because I am a person, and I do have of the inaugural Honi HackBet Challenge. decision and for Honi to publish the whole feelings. I campaign because I care about Details: tinyurl.com/report4honi 16 Opinion: protests and police story, rather than piecemeal reporting that people, and structural inequality, and only added to the stress Liam and I were using the university as a platform to create feeling. For everyone else’s knowledge; I did change. I care so much, I talk to strangers I’m sure all of us remember the protests not leak anything to Honi Soit, and in fact and get rejected, over and over and over but environmental policy, refugee policy, last year in which police were invited on am rather disappointed it was put in Honi again. I believe the candidates from welfare, women’s rights, queer rights, to campus and filmed engaged in punching, that early. Grassroots are truly different from all the indigenous rights and all sorts of other kicking and shoving students. Such other factions, because Tom Raue went to political issues don’t matter and won’t be We acknowledge that Honi Soit’s office is located on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation. We would like to acknowledge incidents took place again on Thursday listened to. The response I’ve received is a mixture court over leaking documents for student the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and pay our respects to the Elders past and present. evening, when the number of police officers of disappointment and confusion. Why safety and Bebe De Souza is running the was reportedly about equal to the number Students are in many ways uniquely complain at all? Why against Liam? first Sex and Consent Day at the University of protesters, and the violence of such placed to comment on the state of politics Essentially, this is what happened: with of Sydney. There is not a doubt in my mind officers was reported on and witnessed in our society. In my experience USYD evidence in hand that Carrigan may have that Edward McMahon will follow in the by the mainstream media. Yet never are students are an extremely diverse bunch broken the electoral regulations, bringing same tradition. we given any sense that the University coming from a range of different cultural his fair election into question, I decided to is concerned about the welfare of its and socioeconomic backgrounds. There are appeal to the RO with that evidence. Liam If you think people will willingly engage students. Never has there been any real people who’ve just finished highschool in responded to this, and the RO decided, in student politics you don’t know a thing acknowledgment of the violence suffered classrooms with people who have children based on his response, that he had not about privilege. Privilege is being able to by its students. Always are we given the in the same position. There are people like Letter of the week! broken any rules. That’s about it. I had go through uni you’re entire degree and sense that the University administration me who grew up in Darlington and people Editorial every right to complain about what I saw not fear homelessness when you lose your is against freedom of protest and on the who grew up in Darwin, or even Dhaka. as potential regulation breaches – a right part-time job. Privilege is never having to G’day Youngins, side of that old saying ‘might makes right’. Many students have experienced hunger, In many respects, this semester The desire to deliver breaking, others used almost excessively against think about whether you should buy food homelessness, mental illness, family other candidates. I had every right to or the text books you need for your course. will probably end as it started. student-relevant news has driven problems and problems with drugs and Well done today. It’s good to see that Uni Students still ensure that those that were elected did Privilege is never suffering a traumatic Elliot Nolan, Arts V (Hons) our editorial vision for much of this alcohol, and understand the value of social have the passion to demonstrate for what is right. so by the rules. experience of violence, and failing all your For the type of person who pre- semester. Reporting on the budget, subjects, because you couldn’t afford to support because of this. Students generally ordered their readers from the campus protests and all things see a counselor or therapist. That is why display a keenness for ideas and an open- Please pass on to the Organisers my compliments for the The only other contentious part of the Gender error? mindedness that are sorely lacking in the copy centre at the start of the year, Raue have occupied many of this story is Robby Magyar’s involvement. I campaign. You are privileged enough to way the March was conducted peacefully. It is difficult to not care about anything or anyone else, Dear Honi, rest of political discourse.