Lumen Winter 2015 - Flipbook - Page 10
stor y by Ren ée Cap p s
120th anniversary of the Adelaide University Union
Editing On Dit across generations
T
he first edition of On Dit was
published by the Union in 1932
making it the third oldest student
publication in Australia.
On Dit has had many editors over its
83 year history. Samela Harris, editor
in 1965, and current editor, Leighton
McDonald-Stuart, provide insights into
working on the paper.
Samela Harris
In 1964 I entered the University of
Adelaide as a law student. It was an
interesting time. This was the tail end of
the Menzies era in Australia and the end
of the epic rule of Sir Tom Playford as
Premier. The 1965 election of Frank Walsh
was to produce the first State Labor
government in 32 years.
The lawyers I had known were poets
and artists and, while I blithely envisaged
a career path in an Adelaide law firm, I
had not anticipated the rigours of rote
learning and the inflexibility of the subjects
ahead of me. I soon became a rebel
student, arguing points of law which,
of course, I could not change.
Then, John Bannon (LLB 1967, BA
1968, D Uni 2014), an older law student
active in the Student Representative
Council suggested I edit On Dit. He
nominated me and I was duly elected
alongside Piers Plumridge (LLB 1969)
and John Waters (LLB 1967).
We were a diverse and colourful trio.
There were lots of editorial disputes
between the politically feisty Waters
and the arty-farty me. Gentle Piers
disapproved of our raucous debates and
resigned spectacularly very early on –
throwing his vintage typewriter down
the hall outside the On Dit office.
Editing a paper was a new and challenging
experience. I was lucky in that my father,
poet and bookseller Max Harris, was
editor of Australian Book Review at the
time. He invited me to editorial sessions
in which I could learn the art of layout.
Read On Dit online at ondit.com.au
8 Lumen | Winter 2015
This was the era of galley proofs and
layouts were done by cut-and-paste
– long streams of paper, clipped and
arranged on pages. Copy was, of course,
done on the typewriter. You could easily
find the On Dit office by the staccato
racket of our clattering typewriter keys.
This was a vital period at the University.
The Student Representative Council
(SRC) was a powerful, well respected
and supportive backbone for the student
body. Some of its leading lights went
on to become leading political figures,
notably John Bannon, who became
Premier and Chris Sumner (LLB 1966, BA
1968), who became Attorney General.
Student activism was taken for granted
and various causes brought students
out en masse into the streets. Most
memorable was the protest against the
death sentence and what was to be the
last hanging in South Australia, the case
of Glen Valance.
Of my own special assignments, Bob
Dylan’ss first visit was the most exciting. It
was my first superstar press conference.
ng On Ditt led to a career in journalism
Editing
and I abandoned law as a lost cause. I went
on to work for The Australian; AAP/Reuter
in Fleett Street, London; The Evening News
burgh; and then The Advertiserr back
in Edinburgh;
laide. I was the first
in Adelaide.
first woman on two
al news floors, the country’s first
general
female Australian Rules Football writer in the
1960s and in the early naughties, I was The
tiser’s inaugural online editor and
Advertiser’s
ng chair of the Adelaide Critics C
irrcle.
founding
Circle.
ently retired, I continue to review
ew
Recently
e for thebarefootreview.com.. I am
m tthe
he
theatre
ourna
ur aliist
sts in
n
Media Alliance’s President of Jo
Journalists
e Convenor of Women in
nM
edia
ed
aS
A
SA, the
Media
SA
e Chair of the SA Media Aw
war
ards
ds.
and the
Awards.
hanks to On Dit.
All thanks
Above: Leighton McDonald-Stuart
Right: Samela Harris,
University of Adelaide 1965
Leighton McDonald-Stuart
Leighton is one of three current editors
and took over the position in December
2014. He is currently in his second year
of law and arts.
Editor of On Dit is a tough balancing
act and layout day is hectic. Everything
is put on hold for 24 hours while you sort
out the tiniest issues. Sometimes that
involves staying at University until the
wee hours of the morning.
My highlights have been interviews
with Education Minister Christopher Pyne
(LLB 1989) and Shadow Minister Amanda
Rishworth (M Clin Psych 2005). Not
many student magazines are afforded the
opportunity to sit down with Ministers a
nd
and
Shadow Ministers, so it’s a reflec
ctition
on off
ection
the great este
eem a
n rep
nd
eput
u at
ation
n of
o
esteem
and
reputation
On Dit ou
uts
tsid
ide
id
e th
the Un
U
ivver
ersi
s ty
si
ty..
outside
University.
