Campus

  Image 1: NTEU protesters at the Monash University Chancellery speaking against the proposed changes. Photographer Mandy Li. Teachers at the Monash Arts Faculty are under pressure over the proposed new cuts by the University. While not yet confirmed, Monash has proposed changes to expand class sizes to over 70 students, reduce consultation hours and cut staffing levels, which could result in greater job insecurity for staff. The Australian government introduced new labour laws in August 2024, with the aim of reducing the casualised workforce of universities. Called the ‘closing loopholes’ law, the original intent was to provide a more

Note: This is the full version of the shortened interview that came out in Lot's Wife Edition 6 2024. It's very long. If you’ve been keeping up with Lot’s Wife on any of our social media pages (plug at end of article alongside NTEU socials), you might have noticed something that pops up every so often: our coverage and support for the Monash NTEU members. Earlier this year, we received and published an article titled Teaching Conditions are our Learning Conditions in Edition one that goes back to the basics of what Monash NTEU members have been fighting for and

Note: The full interview is available here. If you’ve been following Lot’s Wife this year, you’d be aware of our coverage and support for Monash NTEU members. From publishing articles, to covering their stop work action on March 20th and more recently their rally on October 7th. Whilst we’re proud supporters of the NTEU, why should other students care? To answer these questions Sam and I had the pleasure of interviewing Monash Branch Committee members Blair Williams, Carol Que, and Tony Williams. Sam: First of all, what is the NTEU? Tony: The NTEU is the National Tertiary Education Union. Basically,

The COVID-19 Pandemic, while far from over, shall certainly be remembered in the annals of history, not only for triggering what is arguably a series of the most prolific social changes in most of our lifetimes. Almost overnight, we became harrowingly familiar with video conferencing software and the tanalising prospect of continuing our educational journeys – in whatever stage we were at – in some form of online state, usually from the comfort of our bedrooms. And for this, not to mention assorted government’s response or lack thereof to the fifth deadliest pandemic in history, will be remembered in the

Monash University is unique – for oh-so many reasons that I shan’t delve into – but in the context of student media, Monash’s singularity lies in the fact that within a fortnight of the first students stepping foot on the Clayton Campus – lovingly referred to as ‘The Farm’ – a student newspaper emerged, which would become known as Chaos. A letter from an editor at Tharunka (the publication of the University of New South Wales) declared in a letter in a June 1961 edition: “I’d like to congratulate you and your predecessors on the high standard that Chaos has

CW: Rape, Incest   What’s in a name? An odd question, but a valid one in the sense that naming something isn’t quite as straightforward as a proponent of nominative determinism would make it out to be. In saying that, there’s usually nothing more to it than someone taking a particular liking to a certain name or some other sort of personal significance of a name. But in the case of our beloved Lot’s Wife, the choice of name is – to use the words of the men responsible – is “fraught with significance” and they weren’t kidding with an

Lot’s Wife has taken many forms over the years, ranging from a broadsheet in 2011, to the magazine format of today, to the classic tabloid that dominated most of Lot’s Wife’s first three decades of publication. The rationale for these changes came out of a mix of editors experimenting and technologically-motivated paradigm shifts in the printing process, particularly in its early days when Chaos – the predecessor to Lot’s Wife – was getting its act together.   The first edition of the nameless publication, which would become Chaos, appeared around the Cafeteria and notice boards of Monash in early 1961,

Vale Peter ‘Pete’ Steedman – Lot’s Wife Editor 1965-66 December 7, 1943 to July 10, 2024 Peter ‘Pete’ Steedman passed away a month ago, aged 80. Mr. Steedman wrote for Lot’s Wife as well as its predecessor Chaos, before editing Lot’s Wife between 1965 alongside Phillip Frazer and 1966. His work on Lot’s Wife in this time, is credited with not only revolutionising Lot’s Wife but “under his leadership between 1965-66, Lot’s Wife was rescued from mediocrity and became the number one student newspaper in the country…” which was quite a challenge, by his own admission, “I can only compare

While many of us have enjoyed down time between semesters, one staple of life at Monash University hasn’t stopped: the greenwashing of the climate emergency by Woodside Energy.     Heralding its name from the small town of Woodside in Victoria, this is not the only thing the Gas company has adopted to portray a clean image. Most known to Monash University students is the Woodside Building for Technology and Design.    For most, this building serves as a shiny, eco-friendly building which you might enter for an engineering unit. The inside boasts glassy panels, elevators and beautiful interiors and classrooms.

Content Warning: Genocide, racism, Islamophobia, transphobia, violence etc. At 4:00am on April, 17th 2024, students at Columbia University in New York City began pitching tents on the University’s East Butler Lawn, launching what they labelled the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment”. By the following afternoon, the Columbia administration had already called in the police to break up the encampment, and 108 students had been arrested and dozens suspended.  Despite its speedy and brutal repression, or perhaps because of it, the Columbia Encampment sparked a movement which spread like wildfire. By May 3, almost 3000 protesters had been arrested at university campuses in

April 12th, 2024   This May Monash Uni Student Theatre (MUST) and the Bloomshed ensemble present We’re Banking On It! at fortyfivedownstairs. Fusing ideas from the new theatre talents of MUST with MUST alumni, the collaboration promises to examine capitalism’s iron grip on corporations and government. Cast members share their thoughts on the production in this article.    Can you describe the show in three words? “Corrupt, chaotic, outrageous.” Luca Edwards “My name is Sophie Foster, my three words are Stupid Fucking Bird. Jokes. Bold, incisive, absurd.”  John Burgess “Rat, dog, vampire.” Simmar Chawla.   Describe the experience of working

Woodside is terrifying.    When I say Woodside, I’m not talking about the Engineering building– the Woodside Building for Technology and Design, on our own Clayton Campus, is an energy-efficient architectural masterpiece with a slew of design awards. Built in 2019-2020, and opened at an online launch in between lockdowns, it’s the only building on campus that doesn’t use gas for power. That isn’t the ‘Woodside’ I dread.   I’m talking about the name plastered on its side, Woodside, standing for the mining company known as Woodside Energy, formerly Woodside Petroleum (before they merged with BHP). The oil and gas-extracting