WEEK 5, SEM 2 2022 UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
-
FREE STUDENT NEWSPAPER
-
You should be friends with your lecturers
T
he struggle between direct practicality and abstract intellectual benefit is a constant feature of Australian culture, and holds particular prominence in the university setting. Whitlam’s implementation of free tertiary education for all rested on a conception of the arts as a public good and an integral part of Australian identity. In decades since, consecutive Liberal governments’ fiscal austerity has depleted the role of leisurely intellect in both our culture and our education.
The economic reasoning for this is muddy — Australia Institute data released in 2021 suggested the arts sector creates six times as many jobs as construction, per dollar of turnover. It’s logical to conclude that the framing of decisions of arts funding aren’t purely fiscal. Instead, there is a divide in opinions about which social investments are worthwhile. Nowhere is this more prominent than in universities. Recent years have seen the price of generalist degrees doubling, and subject breadth in Bachelor of Arts
Roisin Murphy and Sam Randle write — Page 12
NEWS, CULTURE & ANALYSIS
ExSpences: VC charged uni for boys’ club membership
F
ormer Vice-Chancellor (VC) Michael Spence expensed $133,525.46 over two years against the University, and spent thousands on a personal membership to the exclusive Oxford and Cambridge club. Spence’s expense sheets from his last two years as VC were released to Honi Soit under Freedom of Information legislation. They reveal that the former VC received yearly reimbursements for the renewal of membership fees to the Oxford and Fabian Robertson and Christian Holman report — Page 6
Est. 1929
ALSO IN THIS EDITION: USyd staff strike for fifth day on Open Day - p. 4 Barefoot on campus: Toes out on Eastern Ave - p.7 History of the vibrator - p. 14 What are USyd students torrenting on campus Wi-Fi? - p. 18