Abstract:
The year is 1986; on any university campus in Australia, it is impossible to buy a decent cup of coffee. There are no coffee carts; the only coffee available is instant, from a giant tin of Nescafe at an on-campus co-op. At the University of Melbourne, the union building is bare of any hipster espresso coffee stores – the kind that now dot most university campuses. Instead, apart from the co-op, there are no shops at all. In the words of a student of the time, the empty hall is ‘full of bong heads’ and the high ceiling is filled with thick, peppery smoke. Quite naturally, you can still smoke (cigarettes, at least) on campus, including inside classrooms and lecture theatres; cleaners are employed to periodically empty the ashtrays. University education is also, at this time, still free.
Details / PDF:
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