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.

The campus has been a ghost town the last couple of months while we were putting Edition 5 together. It’s our busiest time of year right now with lots of media-related projects on the go—so a little bit of peace and quiet was probably necessary—but we’re so excited to have people in and out of the office asking us for stuff again with the new semester commencing. If you find yourself in Union House, come and say hello sometime! The media space and office is on Level 4, and our door is always open if you ever want to chat about getting involved or even just hang out or study with other like-minded media fanatics. And we’ve got a big, fuck off heater up here, and many teabags, so we can promise it’ll be a very cosy time.

Thanks so much to everyone who submitted their wonderful work to Above Water 2019, the media and creative arts departments’ annual creative writing and art competition. We had so much fun going through all of the submissions and compiling the shortlists, and Ruby is now all up in the layout process for the anthology. The launch of the publication will be happening as part of Mudfest on August 26, 6-9pm in the Ida Bar. So if you’re into poetry readings and free dranks and vegan snaccs, please come along! It’s so special when writers, readers and listeners alike get together to celebrate creativity. We can’t wait.

If you’ve been chilling at home without a second thought about uni, you might want to catch up on all the things that have been happening on campus! The bike co-op is opening again and Mudfest will be launching very soon (pg. 16), and if you’re a graduate student, find out who your new representatives are from Lauren Berry and Emily Johnson on page 13. Read about one Muslim student’s experience with Law School higher-ups on page 8, or what’s going on with the notorious Ramsay Centre on page 20.

If creative writing is the reason you’ve picked up the mag, make sure to read the winning entries of the Scroggin Prize 2019, from page 55. The prize was a collaboration between Farrago and the first year subject Creative Writing: Ideas and Practice, to encourage students to take their assessments beyond the LMS to print publication. Man, it’s a great time for creative writing on campus! If you’re here for the graphics, check out Giselle Martin’s sweet embroidery on page 38, and William Hunt’s shimmering photography spread on pages 14 and 15.

Xoxo,
Ruby, Caro, Steph and Katie