Honi Soit
Encyclopedia
Honi Soit is the student newspaper
of the University of Sydney
, first published in 1929 and produced by an elected editorial team as part of the activities of the Students' Representative Council
(SRC). The name is short for the Old French "Honi soit qui mal y pense
" ("Shame upon him who thinks evil of it"), the motto of the British Order of the Garter
.
and interview
, letters to the editor, campus news, pop culture articles and news satire
. Periodically, special editions are published, including Election Honi, devoted towards covering the annual Students' Representative Council
(SRC) student elections, Women's Honi, and Queer Honi, dedicated to covering LGBT
issues. Since 2010, the last three pages of each issue have been presented as part of fictional newspaper 'The Garter,' which parodies numerous sections of The Sydney Morning Herald, including Column 8, and contains satirical and irreverent articles.
Issues are published weekly during university semesters. Honi Soit is the only student newspaper in Australia
that remains a weekly publication.
Names of notable past editors include Lex Banning
, Clive James
, Verity Firth
, Laurie Oakes
, and Keith Windschuttle
.
, its La Trobe University
counterpart, entitled The Art of Shoplifting – one of seven student newspapers to do so. Although the Rabelais editors responsible for the original article were prosecuted for ignoring a ban on publication issued by the state's Chief Censor; the editors of the other seven newspapers were not targeted by the authorities. Charges against the Rabelais editors were later dropped.
, which claimed a fire
in 1992 at St Michael's College, a now derelict residential college
adjacent to the University's Architecture building, had killed 16 students. It was implied that a cover-up
by the Catholic Church had stifled widespread awareness of the tragedy, and that the site was now haunted
by ghosts. The following week, the editors published a retraction, stating: '...after a particularly interesting week of deflecting queries from varying positions of authority... last week’s 'Mystery of St Michael’s' was an exercise in fictional storytelling. Thank you to everyone who played along or enjoyed.'
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
of the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, first published in 1929 and produced by an elected editorial team as part of the activities of the Students' Representative Council
University of Sydney Students' Representative Council
The University of Sydney Students' Representative Council is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney.- Structure :...
(SRC). The name is short for the Old French "Honi soit qui mal y pense
Honi soit qui mal y pense
"Honi soit qui mal y pense" is a French phrase meaning: "Shamed be he who thinks evil of it". The phrase is sometimes rendered as "Honi soit quy mal y pense", "Hony soyt qe mal y pense", "Hony soyt ke mal y pense", "Hony soyt qui mal pence" and various other phoneticizations. It is the motto of...
" ("Shame upon him who thinks evil of it"), the motto of the British Order of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
.
Format and organisation
Honi Soit is a tabloid-style publication incorporating a mixture of humorous and serious opinion articles. A typical issue contains a topical feature articleFeature article
* For general information "articles", see Article * For the term used in specific, see Article * For the concept of "feature stories," made the primary focus of a issue for in-depth investigation, see feature story...
and interview
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
, letters to the editor, campus news, pop culture articles and news satire
News satire
thumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
. Periodically, special editions are published, including Election Honi, devoted towards covering the annual Students' Representative Council
University of Sydney Students' Representative Council
The University of Sydney Students' Representative Council is the representative body for undergraduate students at the University of Sydney.- Structure :...
(SRC) student elections, Women's Honi, and Queer Honi, dedicated to covering LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
issues. Since 2010, the last three pages of each issue have been presented as part of fictional newspaper 'The Garter,' which parodies numerous sections of The Sydney Morning Herald, including Column 8, and contains satirical and irreverent articles.
Issues are published weekly during university semesters. Honi Soit is the only student newspaper in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
that remains a weekly publication.
Editors
The office of editor was originally filled by single appointment. Since the 1980s, editors are annually elected as a "ticket" of up to 10 students, in conjunction with the SRC elections.Names of notable past editors include Lex Banning
Lex Banning
Arthur Alexander Banning was an Australian lyric poet.Disabled from birth by cerebral palsy, he was unable to speak clearly or to write with a pen. "Yet he overcame his handicap to produce poems which were often hauntingly beautiful and frequently ironic, and gave to other, younger poets a strong...
, Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
, Verity Firth
Verity Firth
Verity Helen Firth is the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Education Foundation in Australia and a former politician....
, Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes
Laurie Oakes is an Australian political journalist, commentator, and media personality. Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections....
, and Keith Windschuttle
Keith Windschuttle
Keith Windschuttle is an Australian writer, historian, and ABC board member, who has authored several books from the 1970s onwards. These include Unemployment, , which analysed the economic causes and social consequences of unemployment in Australia and advocated a socialist response; The Media: a...
.
The Art of Shoplifting controversy
In 1995, Honi Soit reprinted a controversial article from Rabelais Student MediaRabelais Student Media
Rabelais Student Media is a student newspaper at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, named for French Renaissance writer François Rabelais....
, its La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
counterpart, entitled The Art of Shoplifting – one of seven student newspapers to do so. Although the Rabelais editors responsible for the original article were prosecuted for ignoring a ban on publication issued by the state's Chief Censor; the editors of the other seven newspapers were not targeted by the authorities. Charges against the Rabelais editors were later dropped.
The St Michael's College hoax
On 11 August 2009, Honi Soit published a feature article, 'The Mystery of St Michael's' later uncovered as a hoaxHoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
, which claimed a fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
in 1992 at St Michael's College, a now derelict residential college
Residential college
A residential college is an organisational pattern for a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship with the overall...
adjacent to the University's Architecture building, had killed 16 students. It was implied that a cover-up
Cover-up
A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrong-doing, error, incompetence or other embarrassing information...
by the Catholic Church had stifled widespread awareness of the tragedy, and that the site was now haunted
Haunted house
A haunted house is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were familiar with the property...
by ghosts. The following week, the editors published a retraction, stating: '...after a particularly interesting week of deflecting queries from varying positions of authority... last week’s 'Mystery of St Michael’s' was an exercise in fictional storytelling. Thank you to everyone who played along or enjoyed.'