Lumen Autumn 2024 - Flipbook - Page 12
Your stories
I headed to the University of Adelaide at the height of debates around the reintroduction of
fees for higher education. 1987 saw the Higher Education Administration Charge (HEAC) and
1988 was the start of HECS with Generation X as the guinea pig. I came with purpose: arguing
passionately that education should be publicly funded and accessible to all. The first group I
joined was Women on Campus which gave me an avenue for the feminism imbued in me since
childhood. Rallies and meetings, making posters and distributing free sanitary products
developed camaraderie and activism.
I’d always believed university should be an holistic experience and for me it was. From hosting
a student radio program (Kathy and I brought you The Blue Stocking Show and later, a late-night
music program which meant I could play Jesus and Mary Chain to my heart’s content) to writing
for On Dit, debating, running in student elections, enjoying the best of Uni theatre (Footlights!)
and watching and judging Battle of the Bands!
The bar was often a haven, but so were the Cloisters for fun and activities, even hosting an
Austudy wedding. For quiet times I hid in that beautiful library.
Natasha
Stott Despoja
My passion for politics grew at university. My first election was for the now-defunct Bread
and Circuses broadsheet, it was going to be my literary expression equivalent of the TV show
The D Generation. Sadly, it was not to be. Despite my friend Andrew Rosser and I running on
a convincing platform of “Vote for Nat and Andy”, complete with an image by the famous
cartoonist, the late Michael Atchison, our opponents ran with “Vote for Fat and Randy”
and won.
My more serious student representative forays included serving as Women’s Officer, a Union
Board member and as the President of the Students’ Association (acronym SAUA, pronounced
sewer). I was proud to reintroduce Blue Stocking Week, a chance to acknowledge trailblazing
academic women and highlight the needs of women on campus. Although, the day the city woke
to find the University’s and North Terrace’s statues of famous men covered in blue stockings
did result in a stern warning. A bit like the time I sent sardine tins to members of the University
executive to remind them about overcrowding in lecture theatres.
My tenure as President saw some challenging and tragic times. Attempts by the state
government to withdraw student transport concessions saw thousands take to the streets in one
of the biggest rallies since the Vietnam war, at a time when student activism was considered to
be waning. We won that battle and students still get transport concessions today.
Against the backdrop of the war in Iraq, many students expected their Association to be
active and outspoken. There was a statewide debate about sexism in university colleges, and I
remember also handling a request from then Women’s Officer Annabel Crabb to shut down an
Orientation Week stall that displayed fake foetuses to protest against abortion. But it was the
murder of 18-year-old student Allison Nitschke that I, and others, will never forget, and which
propelled my work in the prevention of violence against women.
Academia was not absent from my thoughts: the intellectual challenge of Ethics IHB or the
vibrant discussions around class and feminism, or Machiavelli to MAD with tutors like Carol
Bacchii, Carol Johnson, Tom Playford and Jenny Stock were legendary. My degree helped hone
critical thinking and analysis, and a range of political, English and history texts gave me insight
into different ideas and ideologies. They fuelled my desire to work in human rights, possibly law,
or behind the scenes in politics. I loved the intellectual rigor of study, even if I didn’t always meet
my deadlines! Guest lecturers, such as the first female leader of a national political party Senator
Janine Haines, were inspirational and challenged us all.
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