New Name Loading UNSW

26/07/2024

09/07/2024

The Fire Panel was one of the headliner events for NAIDOC 2024.

hosted a inspiring and insightful discussion with Adam Goodes, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts and Renee Wootton.

Read more at: https://tharunka.com/keep-the-fire-burning-unsws-naidoc-fire-panel/

04/07/2024

The Australian Government has implemented a number of changes to its Temporary Graduate visa programs (subclass 458). These changes are in effect from July 1, 2024.

Anyone impacted by the changes may be eligible for alternative visas.

Find out more here: https://tharunka.com/australian-government-implements-changes-to-temporary-graduate-visa-programs/

02/07/2024

A 22-year-old student has been taken to hospital and a 14-year-old boy arrested after an alleged stabbing at USYD this morning.

NSW Police have said that there is no ongoing risk to the community.

16/06/2024

With the advent of a newly re-named publication, some people might be asking, what ever happened to Tharunka?

Richard finds out.

On a stroll through campus, I passed by a stand holding copies of Tharunka. They were sitting there modestly, half taken. A spiderweb had literally formed across them. No more are the days where copies of Tharunka are flying off the racks, causing a stir with university administrators and students.....

13/06/2024

Tharunka editor Richard Neville was praised as Australia's Literary Larrikin for his co-founding of countercultural touchstone, 'Oz Magazine'. But what was behind the larrikin?

George Raptis unravels.

For all the words written about the life of Richard Neville I cannot scroll past a black and white image of him in his youth. With a face framed by jet black bangs, Neville has one hand casually perched in his jean pocket, wearing a jacket whose collar is lined with various-sized buttons. What is

10/06/2024

Foundation Day was once a staple of UNSW life. A way for students to establish their own identity of the campus and to stick it to authority. But where did it go?

Emma Partis explores a bygone time of UNSW history.

Did you hear about the time that UNSW students kidnapped an alligator from Taronga Zoo in 1964, and stuffed it into a cricket bag to be later collected from Kensington campus for a ransom? Or how, in 1961, a team of 20 UNSW students broke a world record by pushing a scooter non-stop from Melbourne

06/06/2024

Looking back on her editorship in 1970, political activist and journalist Wendy Bacon discusses her experience as a Tharunka editor, and how it helped shape her views for the rest of her career.

Anh Noel speaks with Wendy Bacon.

By Anh Noel - When she first arrived on campus she was lost. On the day of our interview, a frantic phone call with Wendy Bacon dictated our first impressions of one another...

31/05/2024

We are back!
To get the latest new on what is UNSW's oldest and newest student publication follow the link below!
We are also taking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from current UNSW students to apply for the 5 NEW Editorial positions!

https://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/publications/new-name-loading

17/03/2024

Why is the name change necessary you ask?

Well in 2023, an investigation by the publication into the history of the name brought to light that the word might be stolen from a central Aboriginal Language and has been misappropriated. For more information and to read the full article: https://tharunka.com/why-tharunka-needs-to-change-its-name/

During this time we are not taking pitches or article ideas but we will be back later in the year and in true student form it will be bigger and better than ever!

If you have any questions about this process please contact our Media Project Officer Dominique Lakis at [email protected]

12/12/2023

“Is ‘tharunka’, then, also an invention? Throughout my research, I found it impossible to trace the word ‘tharunka’ back to any NSW language groups, or to find an equivalent of it that means ‘message stick’ in any languages at all.

“Given their phonetic similarity, I wanted to find out if it was possible ‘tharunka’ was an Anglicisation of the word ‘tjurunga’. However, assuming this comes with a number of issues. The major one being that tjurunga are not considered message sticks from an anthropological context.”

Anh Noel’s investigation concludes.

See the full article in Issue 3 – Tharunka Is Dead – out soon.

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12/12/2023

“Although the core question of this investigation remains unanswered, it did indicate the processes undertaken in naming the publication. To start, instead of real information regarding the specific language and region the word was taken from, we’re provided with a statement of serious colonial and racial prejudice; an implication that First Nations people were “unfortunately” not “technically minded” enough. In talking to representatives from Nurra Gili, I also found that this lack of information points to a high possibility that the word was taken without appropriate permission or consultation with First Nations people.

“A closer look into student publications’ history sees a pattern emerging. It was just in 2022 when the Sydney Arts Society’s Journal (SASS) was forced to change its name from ARNA to AVENUE given evidence that the original name was likely stolen from the Barngala people. The publication’s name had been ARNA since 1938, and recent evidence proves that it was incorrectly attributed to the name of ‘a sun-god'. Like Tharunka, their 1938 editorial also explains that it was chosen from an “unspecified Aboriginal language”, giving no evidence of which language group or whether it was obtained with consultation or permission.

“Anh Noel uncovers the truth.”

See the full article in Issue 3 – Tharunka Is Dead – out soon.

This post was approved by .

18/10/2023

The 2024 SRC will be controlled by Revive (formerly Together) for the sixth year in a row.

Michael Rahme, Paige Sedgwick and Annikka Burge (Revive) were all elected into their positions against Dan Beric (Independent) by overwhelming majority, each obtaining more than 80% of the vote against an opponent that did not campaign.
Cherish Kuehlmann (Left Action) will remain Education Officer for a second term after overcoming challenger Harry White (Independent) with a 60-40% margin, whose posters and policies ultimately could not overcome a lack of StuPol experience.

Kuehlmann will be joined this year by two others from Left Action, Gina Elias, who was elected unopposed to be Environment Officer, and Diya Sengupta, who narrowly overcame Yash Agrawal (Revive) in the closest individual election perhaps in UNSW’s history.

Sengupta received 1,288 votes to Agrawal’s 1,275, for a margin of 0.5%. This also marks the first time in the history of the ticket that Left Action have held three of the twelve Office Bearer positions.

Elsewhere, Imandi Mudugamuwa (Revive) will take over as Women’s Officer, winning the only office to be contested by more than two candidates with 47% of first preferences. Geoffrey Zhen and Timothy To (Revive) will inherit Rahme’s post as Students with Disabilities Officer, and Alexander Pye (Revive) will become International Students’ Officer, with both candidacies enjoying comfortable victories over independent candidates.

Minor Party members and Independents now hold three positions across the SRC, down from eight last year, largely due to the absorption of the Grassroots ticket into Left Action. The other 25 are held by Revive and Left Action. Only new Paddington Domestic Officer Danielle Moutopoulos and re-elected Q***r Officers Pepsi and Rebecca Blundell remain.

Arc SLT convenor and UNSW Undergraduate Representative Zac Morris (Revive) has been elected as an NUS delegate, along with Office Bearers Kuehlmann, Elias (Left Action) and Sedgwick (Revive).

Kuehlmann also received enough votes to be elected into one of six Councillor A positions, but was ineligible due to her continued post as Education Officer. Interestingly, this meant a Revive member, Shreya Rao, took the electorate’s sixth position, resulting in a 7-5 split between the major tickets in Revive’s favour across UNSW’s ‘backbench’.

11/10/2023

Poised to make the switch to General Secretary from next year, the SRC's president Paige Sedgwick sits down to chat about her achievements in 2023, her goals for the year ahead, and the relationship between the student community, Arc and UNSW.

This post was approved by

10/10/2023

Diya Sengupta (Left Action) and Yash Agrawal (Revive) discuss growing the underexposed Ethno-Cultural Collective as they vie to become next year's Ethno-Cultural Officer.

Interviews by Sabrine Nasri.

This post was approved by

10/10/2023

Hear from the candidates for 2024 Education Officer, Cherish Kuehlmann (Left Action) and Harry White (Independent) on how they will handle student calls for institutional change at UNSW.

Voting closes on Friday evening.

This post was approved by

10/10/2023

The upcoming referendum is the culmination of years of grassroots activism from Indigenous communities. After 5 national Indigenous bodies which have been systematically dismantled and defunded with the political cycle, this constitutionally enshrined Voice may represent a chance for communities to finally have a say in the policies that affect their lives in a stable, ongoing way. But where did the Voice come from, and why did communities call for it?

Emma Partis reports.

First of all, we need to establish that this idea of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament didn’t come from Canberra. The Voice referendum campaign was sparked by the 2017 Uluru Statement of the Heart, an invitation made by Indigenous leaders to the Australian people, to move forward and right past in...

09/10/2023

To run for your uni’s SRC not just for its top position, but also for Education and Welfare Officer, is a bold move. You’d think it would come with a killer campaign by one of unmeasured Stupol knowhow.

But Dan Beric is not only attempting this feat, but doing so without lifting a finger on the campaign trail. When Nominations closed in early September, his name was down for three (of twelve) Officer positions on the SRC for 2024. But he has not put himself out there like every other candidate has. In fact, he’s squarely in the darkness.

He is not affiliated with any ticket. None of the candidates we spoke to have any idea who he is. He does not appear to have active social media. There has been no campaign in support of him. No ticket page, no posters, not even a Facebook profile pic filter.

We have attempted to contact him on multiple platforms. As stated, we couldn’t find a social media account that could have been a UNSW student by the name of Dan Beric. We reached out to an email address and phone number provided by Arc at the close of nominations, left voicemails, and received no response. He probably thinks we’re a stalker by now.

Do you know Dan Beric? If you do, we want to hear from you. Dan, if you’re reading, we just want to know how you plan on serving the student community. It’s lovely in Arc Marketing, you should stop by for a chat.

This post was approved by .

09/10/2023

Get to know Annikka Burge (Revive) who is in line to be the 2024 Welfare Officer. Burge talked to us about incorporating more safe spaces on campus, as well as effectively communicating student issues and concerns to UNSW executive.

Interview by Alex Neale.

This post was approved by

09/10/2023

Poised to take over as SRC President in 2024, Michael Rahme (Revive) sits down with us to talk about his plans for the future, the past year as Students with Disabilities Officer, and the relationship between UNSW and the Student Community.

This post was approved by

08/10/2023

Get to know the third of three hopefuls running for Women's Officer in 2024.

Voting opens Tuesday.

This post was approved by Arc - UNSW Student Life

What is your current relationship with the Arc Board and how do you plan on growing it? I’m part of a lot of societies such as the United Nations society and part of the editing sub-committee of Blitz, but I have no direct relationship with Arc board, don’t liaise with them regularly. The Arc bo...

08/10/2023

Get to know the second of three hopefuls running for Women's Officer in 2024.

Voting opens Tuesday.

This post was approved by Arc - UNSW Student Life

What is your current relationship with the Arc Board and how do you plan on growing it? Not super well versed on this – some overlap in terms of people who support Revive and the Arc board and can’t think of anyone of the top of head. Something we support is having open dialogue with

08/10/2023

Tharunka spoke to UNSW’s candidates for Students with Disabilities Officer, Conroy Blood, who represents Left Action, and the joint candidacy of Geoffrey Zhen and Timothy To, who represent Revive and will share the role if elected.

Should the Revive pair be elected, To will be afforded with voting rights.

This post was approved by Arc - UNSW Student Life

Tharunka spoke to UNSW’s candidates for Students with Disabilities Officer, Conroy Blood, who represents Left Action, and the joint candidacy of Geoffrey Zhen and Timothy To, who represent Revive and will share the role if elected. Blood, a member of the NSW Greens, is a newcomer to student politi...

08/10/2023

Get to know the first of three hopefuls running for Women's Officer in 2024.

Voting opens Tuesday.

What is your current relationship with the Arc Board and how do you plan on growing it? “I don’t think the Arc board is the most important thing for students at the moment. The Arc board can be a barrier to getting stuff done. University and SRC funding, as well as posters and other aspects

05/10/2023

The Academic Board paper referenced in Tuesday night’s post was misinterpreted. Alas, it’s not *all* sunshine and rainbows: the Fit to Sit rule will remain next year. The Academic Board approved the removal of the Fit to Submit subsection which governs assignments and essays as opposed to exams.

Under Fit to Submit, the formal submission of any assessment was taken by UNSW as a statement that its author was physically able to complete it at their most able, rendering students ineligible for extensions after the fact, perhaps after gaining capacity to complete the assessment to a higher standard.

From next year, you will no longer be barred from Special Consideration after submitting a long-form assessment on time. The controversial regulations governing exams remain.

Stay tuned for more details on how simple* extensions will work from next year.

More to come.

04/10/2023

The opposition leader has called on his subjects to condemn the permeating torrent of bickering and division that has emerged during this Voice campaign.

Despite only being where we are today because he took it upon himself to disagree with the Labor party, followers of the sontaran general have echoed claims that those who support the Indigenous Voice to Parliament are part of a nationwide conspiracy to seduce aussies into fighting with their countrymen.

“If you ask me,” he told a Tharunka reporter, who was invited to chat with him in his Brisbane home while he showed off his horcrux recipe, “the snowflakes supporting the voice don’t want our nation to stand together.

“One and free, y’know?”

“Are you referring anyone in particular there?”, we asked.

“Well, you’ve got the banks, they’ve gone soft,” he began, “then there’s the unis, they’re full of lefties. Can you believe Barnesy? Don’t even get me started on John Farnham. Those two are just unaustralian.

“You’ve got the unions, the airlines, the supermarket chains, and can we keep politics out of sport, please?

“All these groups are all saying the same thing: that they don’t want unity.”

“What about the mining companies?” we continued.

“Well, I’m always a big supporter of private companies that create good jobs in industries that benefit the economy. I’d like to thank my friends at Woodside, BHP, etcetera, for always having aussies’ backs.”

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03/10/2023

A proposal to abolish the maligned ‘Fit to Sit’ rule as well as introduce Simple Extensions to UNSW has been passed at a recent Academic Board meeting.

Minutes from a prior meeting of the board detail a ‘powerful statement’ from undergraduate representative Zac Morris where he labelled the Special Considerations process as ‘broken’ and ‘hostile to students’.

Under Fit to Sit, UNSW considered the act of beginning an exam as a statement that the student is physically capable of completing it.

This resulted in reports of students developing sickness such as food poisoning or experiencing panic attacks mid-exam and having no avenue to recoup resultant lost marks.

With Simple Extensions, course convenors will have the power to grant extensions to assessments of 5 days or less when students contact them describing extraneous circumstances that they feel warrants extension.

The changes are set to be implemented from t1 next year.

This post was approved by Arc - UNSW Student Life .

02/10/2023

Dungeons and Dragons, Harry Potter and Stranger Things. When you think of these topics, what words spring to mind? Supernatural mystery? Magic? What about… the Satanic Panic? Sean Cullen explains.

It may be hard to believe today, but in the 1980s to 1990s, the Satanic Panic was at its peak in Australia as well as the United States. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a bunch of people pulling their hair out in panic because they truly believed that there were clandestine groups of people engaging in Satan worship. And it’s the kind of panic that has historically spiraled out of control into full-on mass hysteria.

But how do we account for the rapid spread of the Satanic Panic? Dr Joseph Laycock, assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University, notes that many perpetuating the Satanic Panic against DnD were conservative Christians – despite the original creators of DnD being “themselves very devout Christians.” Based on this conservative Christian context, Dr Laycock suggests that the Satanic Panic spread due to a fear of the imagination becoming a strategy of “thumbing your nose at God.” After all, what’s a good DnD game without a Dungeon Master who has the godlike ability to build entire worlds?

The Satanic Panic had real and devastating consequences for those who were wrongly targeted by the hysteria. This included many day care providers, often “middle-aged, working- or middle-class women” (Young 2008: 1719) being convicted of ritual child abuse and imprisoned – only for their convictions to be revoked years later due to a lack of reliable incriminating evidence against them (Young 2007). At the same time, the Satanic Panic overshadowed real victim-survivors' stories of child abuse. As research fellow Michael David Barbezat explains, the Satanic Panic prevented many, including policy makers, from interrogating the “actual social structures that facilitate abuse.”

Full article via the link in bio.
Written by Sean Cullen
Edited by Arieta Varvaressos.

01/10/2023

Your chance to hear from the candidates of your 2024 SRC is coming this Tuesday-Thursday. Use the form below to get your questions answered at our debates.

https://forms.office.com/r/2pdYupHVxc

Graphic by Kelly Quach.

15/09/2023

Late post of this cute pic of our Launch Party from last term. 'Raw' is almost off the shelves - get yours now!