Quality student journalism since 1929

Honi Soit is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Sydney, Australia. Published since 1929 by the Student’s Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Sydney and distributed around campus free for all students to read, Honi Soit has a colorful and sometimes controversial history but has a proud reputation of being the most vibrant and prestigious student publication in Australia. It is also the only weekly student publication in Australia.

Our alumni of famous and infamous student editors have produced some of their more interesting and controversial work in the pages of Honi Soit. Many have gone on to become leaders in the arts, journalism, law and Australian politics.

Honi Soit is produced by a team of student editors, who are elected by the student body in the SRC annual elections. They receive professional training and support from the SRC Publications Managers and manage a group of student reporters and contributors that help create over 20 pages of weekly content.

Honi Soit commenced publication in 1929 under the auspices of the then Sydney University Undergraduates’ Association (now the Students’ Representative Council), to counteract the mainstream Sydney press who had set about demonising University of Sydney students after one Commemoration Day got a little out of control (it was only the Cenotaph. after all). This is also the origin of the name, Honi Soit, which is short for the Old French phrase, “Honi soit qui mal y pense” (“Shame upon him who thinks evil of it”), the motto of the British Order of the Garter.

Commem. Day, a fine University tradition that ran up until the mid 1970s, involved a grand parade from the University grounds up to Town Hall in which different faculties and societies manned their own floats, and young rapskalions waged havoc upon conservative Sydney with bold pranks of varying tastefulness. The day was not only a celebration of youthful exuberance but also a lynchpin in the nascent University community.

Ever since its inception as a defence of Commémoration Day, Honi Soit has continued to be a reflection of this community, both in its successes and times of trial.

If you would like to Advertise with Honi Soit please check out Advertising Information Page. 

Honi Soit Online and Mobile

In 2010 Honi Soit entered the digital age by launching a website and Facebook page. In 2012 Honi Soit Editors decided to upgrade the existing website to further push Honi Soit’s online presence with this website that is both tablet and mobile friendly.

In 2014, the website was re-developed from scratch and relaunched by that year’s editorial team. They also developed a tablet friendly app delivering the print edition via Apple and Google Newsstand.

Honi Soit has a heavy social media presence today, actively engaging online conversations through its popular Facebook page and Twitter account.

About the SRC

Honi Soit is supported by the Students Representative Council at the University of Sydney. Run by students for students since 1929, the SRC offers undergraduate students confidential advice, affordable books, emergency loans and other student services. The SRC represents undergraduates within the University of Sydney and the wider Australian University community.

Publishing Information

Published by:
Students’ Representative Council, University of Sydney
Level 1 Wentworth Building (G01)
University of Sydney, NSW 2006

Printed by:
Marrickville Print and Design
Unit E1, 46-62 Maddox Street
Alexandria, NSW 2015

Supported by:
The SRC’s operational costs, space and administrative support are financed by the University of Sydney.

Disclaimer

Honi Soit is printed under the auspices of the SRC’s directors of student publications. All expressions are published on the basis that they are not to be regarded as the opinions of the SRC unless expressly stated. The Council accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions or information contained within the newspaper, nor does it endorse any of the advertisements.

Acknowledgement of Country

Honi Soit is published on the sovereign land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation, who were amongst the first to resist against and survive the violence of colonisation. This land was taken without consent and sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Indigenous students and staff at the University. 

As a team of settlers occupying the lands of the Gadigal, Dharug, Wangal, Biddegal, Kuringgai and Wallumedegal people, we are the beneficiaries of ongoing colonial dispossession. The settler-colonial project of ‘Australia’ and all its institutions, including the University, are built on the exclusion of First Nations peoples and the devaluation of Indigenous knowledge systems. Beneath the sandstone buildings of USyd lie thousands of years of Aboriginal history. 

Colonialism is not a one-time event that occurred in the distant past; it is an ongoing structure. The genocide of First Nations people is perpetuated and enabled by the government, who push ahead with the forced removals of Aboriginal children from their families, their Country, and their cultures. Aboriginal peoples are the most incarcerated on earth, and there have been nearly 450 documented Indigenous deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commision.

We pledge to actively stand in solidarity with First Nations movements towards  decolonisation through our editorial decisions, and to be reflective when we fail to do so. We commit to being a counterpoint to mainstream media’s silencing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We remain cognisant that Honi’s writers and readership are predominantly made up of settlers, and aim to platform Indigenous voices in our paper. 

There is no justice without Indigenous justice. 

Always was and always will be Aboriginal land.