Welcome Back to All

Issue 1, Semester 1, 2019

ANISHA THOMAS

Welcome back to all, whether to those who have stayed clear of this echo chamber for the good part of the last four months, those with a week’s respite between LMR and today, those who, in a spiritual sense, never really left, and of course to those who actually just didn’t go (I worked from Level 3 too, I know who you are).
 
De Minimis has been a stalwart companion to law students since its first run in 1948. It has variously been conceived of as the Law School’s laziest fourth estate, ‘a rag’, a publication that ‘will print anything you send in that is not obscene and libellous’, and that thing that someone once called it in the comments section somewhere. Granted, most of these indictments are self-labelled (please don’t question whatever complex its various editors have had), but even we’ll admit that De Minimis is the Law School's best friend. I mean, when your only other choice is the weekly Careers Online email which you only read for the job opportunities… no wait who am I kidding, that email is serious gold. Alright, perhaps ‘good friend’ might have to suffice.

De Minimis nevertheless remains at once the heart of law school debate and the spicy melting pot of controversy, as well as a space for creative expression, seeing crosswords and poems metamorphose into meta-playlists about the JD experience doubling as the dulcet tones of the seven stages of grief and much more.
 
De Minimis is about you. What we publish is what our fellow students give us on a weekly basis. We exist because you care about the whispers around the water cooler on Mezz (unpopular opinion - NOT the best taps in the building), about the highs, lows and woes of MLS, the political stages from your backyard to The Hague, arts and culture, making people laugh or pause for thought, and everything in between.  Who else will hold the LSS to account on their sinister vendetta against lactards through their inordinate spending on cheese boards? Who else sits indolently at the back of the classroom, contributing with gusto to the comments section debate? Who, tell me who, will explain how the addition of supposedly eco-friendly revolving doors is adequate penance for building this north-facing glasshouse? Quite frankly, you are the heart of De Minimis. You are its life force.
 
Did I melt those steely cockles? If not, you must hate baby animals.
 
To the first years, I hope the LMR edition had something for everyone. If not, please do write for us with your pithy two cents. If yes, that’s because someone took what’s actually a very small leap to write it, and I hope you take that leap too. You can even write if you’ve never written an essay in your life (Chantal Morton can also help you generally write an essay too). To those in their second or third year, keep contributing if you already have and start now if you’re curious, vexed, or need something for the CV. To those in fourth year, I’m so sorry you’re still here (read: write for us too). You won’t be writing just for us, but for the greater good of the Law School.     

I hope I’ve convinced you enough in some way, shape or form. As Editor In Chief, I hope this year, whether our first or our last, brings us more to write about, good and bad, satirical and rousing. I hope you’ll be a part of our team, either as a reader or writer. You can follow us on Facebook, read us at www.deminimis.com.au, and direct your queries and submissions to mlsdeminimis@gmail.com. Happy reading! May the Hunger Games begin. Sorry, weird ending. I have no idea how to end articles. Ok, bye. The end. Fin.

Anisha is a Third Year JD Student and De Minimis' Editor-in-Chief for 2019.

More in this issue:

• Let Me Tell You A Little Something, Sweaty
• Build Communities, Not Prisons: My Time at Just Reinvest NSW
• Was it on the Cards?

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