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.

So here she is, lucky number three! Since you last heard from us, we’ve been enjoying the cosy weather, and using it as an excuse to wear sweaters and conspire in the Rowdy, as pictured above (our very shiny faces also pictured). We strode in to take the pic holding empty mugs as props, and a very distressed librarian exclaimed “no food or drink!” We’re extremely sorry for scaring her.

Now the start-of-semester dust has settled and we’re all neck deep in assignments, it seems like a good time to reflect on where we are on our editorial journey. We became the Farrago editorial team late last year and since then have worked every single day putting out this big baby each month. It’s been a wild ride, but we adore Farrago, and are so grateful for the opportunity to put important pictures and words into print and distribute them across campus. We believe in nothing more than the power of media, and are so grateful to have access to a platform on which we can try our hardest to celebrate art and create change.

As the editorial team, we are technically volunteers, but it’s essentially a full-time job. In the interest of transparency, we are reimbursed about 25.5k for the year we are in this position, which equates to about $480 per week before tax. We’re all students, some of us have casual jobs to pay the bills, and the fact remains that the poverty line sits at $433 per week. This is not to undermine what an incredible privilege it is to be here, but we wanted to shine some light on issues of accessibility in terms of who can afford to dedicate so much time to run the magazine. It’s a massive job, and we’re learning and growing every edition, every day even.

Open up the news section this edition if you want to learn more about the climate strike rally from Lucy Turton (pg. 12-15) or read highlights from the federal budget from Megan Hanrahan, Wing Kuang, and Steph on pages 16-17. In nonfiction, have a read of Jemma Payne’s critique of one-way interviews on page 29, or learn how to make bread with Quentin Bell (pg. 34-35). Admire Jennifer Chance’s gorgeous multi-lingual poem ‘Detik-Detik’, and equally as gorgeous accompanying artwork by Amani Nasarudin, on pages 56-57, and flick to pages 40-41 to feast your eyes on Kespa Katsuk’s photography spread. We’re so excited for you to experience all of the incredible work our contributors have given us.

Stay warm,

Ruby, Katie, Caro and Steph