When PULP made its print debut in 2022, it was fair to ask why. After ditching its former print publication, BULL, in 2015, the USU pivoted to Pulp (then lower case) in 2016, creating its first all digital masthead.
The USU’s publications continued to be digital since then and after Hermes had its last gasp in 2019, Pulp became the USU’s only publication.
But times have changed since the heady days of 2016. A retro nostalgia is in the air for all things tangible, and PULP, printed and everything, is now in its 3rd year of publication.
And as the USU has gone back to print, so have many clubs and societies — launching wholly new mouthpieces or returning to print for old classics.
Jeremy, the University of Sydney Physics Society’s publication, recently hit stands. Available in metal wire-frame racks dotted around campus, Jeremy was revived in 2020 after a 5-year hiatus as a printed, fortnightly newsletter which quickly succumbed to the ravages of COVID and enjoyed a new digital existence soon after.
This year though, Jeremy has finally gone back to print — perhaps for good this time.
Having been first published in the 1980s, Jeremy has a reasonably storied history. And what’s more, its very name is a historical mystery itself.
Its first edition of the year, released in August and certainly more than just a newsletter, contains a delightful mix of articles addressing both the scientific discipline of physics and the academic department itself at USyd.
It’s not all sequels and revivals though, with the Sydney University United Nations Society (SUUNS) launching a brand spanking new physical publication.
The SUUNSday Post launched this semester at an event in the Royal Exchange and themed to “the Roars of Change.” Including articles about international diplomacy as well unrelated pieces, cash prizes were offered to contributors and the slick print job is sure to attract submissions for any future editions.
Why they chose The SUUNSday Post over the name of their old e-newsletter, The Sydney Munning Herald, is a mystery, but it’s good to see clubs outside of the faculty or discipline genre, who enjoy a lot advantages in this area, putting out physical publications.
And there are more on the horizon.
FilmSoc is currently working on BESTBOY magazine – a self described “wacky”, “niche”, and “experimental” print publication that will be the tangible manifestation of FilmSoc’s ethos of community and discussion.
The editorial team say they want to “provide a casual low effort and welcoming platform for work that isn’t cookie cutter, super polished, or highly sophisticated.”
“A lot of our vision looks back to raw, unfiltered, personal, unformulated expressions, the kind that were almost prototyped by independent, artistic and underground outlets.”
And that is exactly the space these sorts of smaller campus print publications can fill, offering a more casual and approachable alternative to Honi and PULP, which to many can seem intimidating or overly professionalised.
For the editors of BESTBOY, print is just better.
“You can rip its guts out to make something wonderful, or if you hate it you can dramatically throw it on the ground and stamp it a bunch. It can be a makeshift table, sun shade, a wildlife survival kit…..endless possibilities.”
And as any Honi contributor will know, the best thing about print is enjoyed most by those who participate in it.
“If you’re part of it, well, you can frame it with pride.”
Before the internet and social media gobbled everything up, these sorts of physical C&S publications weren’t such an oddity at USyd. Almost every serious club or society would have a newsletter or journal or magazine, sustained by a more generous, pre-VSU funding scheme and facilitated by ample free or subsidised printing and publication resources provided by the USU, print was prevalent because it was the only option.
These publications are now mostly remembered only by the archives that catalogue them and the now grown up uni students who fondly remember publishing them. Publications like SUSFA’s Enigma, SU Tolkien Society’s The Eye, or SU Dracula Society’s Draculena were all, I’m sure, much beloved by their readers at the time.
So while the communicative necessity of print publication is now gone, the recent comeback that the medium has been making on campus is nice to see. Perhaps another symptom of the chronic condition that USyd is coming down with: a bad case of campus-life-was-better-20-years-ago-itis.
