Best of ‘viral’ 2017
In the world of new media, traction makes the world go round. Here are the articles you clicked on the most, in order.
Anti-abortion advocate calls for Serena Williams to be stripped of grand slam title, claiming ‘fetal personhood’ means she was unfairly advantaged
By Katie Thorburn
“’She was playing doubles in a singles tournament!’ Nile screamed. ‘That’s clearly against the rules!’”
Note: This satire piece became Honi’s most viewed article of all time after being mistaken (or deliberately portrayed) as real news on Twitter.
Food fault lines: mapping class through food chains
By Natassia Chrysanthos and Ann Ding
“Beyond drawing lines around a ‘hipster/suburbia’ divide, what else can drawing maps around the distribution of food chains in Sydney tell us about different parts of the city?”
SRC live election results and blog
By Honi Soit
“We’ve called the Presidential ballot for Imogen Grant and the Honi race for Heat.”
USU Board candidate Zhixian Wang excluded from the election
By Justine Landis-Hanley
“The USU Returning Officer found Wang was posting on WeChat and offering a large group of University students money, through WeChat’s ‘Red Packets’ functionality, to encourage students to vote for her.”
Young professional with no personality compensates by buying bright socks
By Jayce Carrano
“It’s what I’m known for. They call me ‘that sock guy’, ” Grant says. ‘I guess you could probably call me office famous.’”
Protesters clash, one arrested, outside The Red Pill screening
By Siobhan Ryan, Maani Truu and Bianca Farmakis
“Police have arrested one person at a protest outside an on-campus screening of The Red Pill, a documentary about the Men’s Rights Activist (MRA) movement which has been banned in various cinemas around the world.”
The case for being sex critical
By Courtney Thompson
“Hearing “you’re definitely a feminist”, be the first thing someone says as they remove your underwear and look at your vagina really forces you to weigh up the cost benefits of having sex that is usually physically subpar and, sometimes frankly offensive.”
Eastern Avenue ‘No’ stall overrun by pro-marriage equality student activists
By Ann Ding and Siobhan Ryan
“A group of pro-marriage equality students have formed a rally on Eastern Avenue in response to a ‘Free Kebab’ stall run by anti-marriage equality groups on Eastern Avenue.”
Holocaust denying student confronted on campus
By Kishor Napier-Raman and Aidan Molins
“Vanguard for SRC have denounced Sukith Fernando after it emerged that he had posted material on Facebook defending Adolf Hitler. In a reply to a video questioning the Holocaust posted on his wall, Fernando commented “Wow Hitler really did nothing wrong”.”
Extremely Live and Incredibly Blog: USU Elections 2017
By Honi Soit
“Honi reluctantly brings you all the goss and drama from the campaign trail … in live blog form”
Why The Simpsons couldn’t survive the new millennium
By Jacob Henegan
“People disagree just when the golden age ends, but they all agree it was less of a sudden drop in quality and more a slow process of it feeling not quite the same. What happened? How did one of the most beloved comedies of all time turn into a show that most of its self-proclaimed biggest fans don’t even watch anymore?
Sex on campus
By various students
“I once fucked in the disabled bathroom next to the Old Geology Lecture Theatre. Before that we did foreplay in the lecture theatre itself and I came all over one of the chairs. I still go back and visit the chair for the memories. This was nearly three years ago. Oh, how time flies!
St Paul’s College warns students against publishing sexist posts because it could hurt their CVs
By Justine Landis-Hanley
“The Head of St Paul’s College, Dr Ivan Head, appears to have accidentally posted and deleted a warning to his students on the official St Paul’s College Facebook page, telling them not to write sexist material online because it isn’t private and may hurt future job prospects.”
Deputy Vice Chancellor suddenly stood down from the University
By Natassia Chrysanthos
“As Deputy Vice Chancellor, Houston was the first Aboriginal person to hold such a role in an Australian university. Honi understands that his departure was a great shock to colleagues and other staff working at the University. The University gave no reason as to his sudden departure.”
Banned Honi Soit cover used in Kenya to raise awareness of female genital mutilation
By Natassia Chrysanthos
“Alison Shepherd-Smith, who works in Kenya as a gender equality and gender-based violence advisor, drew on the uncensored cover when working with a class of women from rural communities.
ANU scraps ATAR
By Kishor Napier-Raman
“Effectively, the ANU appears to be replacing one ranking system with another. Whilst ATAR discriminates between students based on their exam scores, the proposed system ranks students on the strength of their CVs.”
Imogen Grant narrowly elected 2018 SRC President
By Honi Soit
“Grant, supported by Switch, was able to overcome a strong challenge from Liberal Brendan Ma after receiving the bulk of preferences from third-placed Stand Up candidate Bella Pytka.”
USyd lecturer the lead spokesperson for Coalition of Marriage ‘No’ campaign
By Nick Bonyhady and Natassia Chrysanthos
“York authorised the Coalition for Marriage’s recent TV ad, which features three mothers claiming that school curricula would be radically revised if marriage equality were to be legalised.”
Video games of the alt-right
By Jonty Katz
“At its core, the point of contention is clear: are video games meant to be “designed for straight, white men” — as ProgenyOfEurope puts it — to the exclusion of all others? Or should they also be spaces for women, people of colour, and people of diverse genders and sexuality?”
SIKE3017: Psychology students given exam paper with answers already on it
By Jessica Syed
“Students in one exam room discovered the correct responses to the multiple choice component — worth 60 per cent of the exam — were conveniently formatted in bold print after opening their booklets to begin the assessment.”
