Gemma Lucy Smart
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gemmalucysmart.bsky.social
Gemma Lucy Smart
@gemmalucysmart.bsky.social
Disability advocate. PhD historian / philosopher. Research and Evaluation nerd. Passionate about justice and solidarity ❤️ Sometimes I make music & write poetry. Rebel 🍄🫶🏻🫖
Absolutely gobsmacked to have opened my email to find that I have been have been awarded the University of Sydney Faculty of Science Postgraduate Research Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement.

Thanks Hans Pols, Paul Rhodes and Dominic Murphy for being excellent supervisors!
June 26, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Proud to see AAHPSSS adopt the Equity & Diversity Principles I drafted as VP. Great collaboration with our executive team and membership to get this across the line.

Now for the implementation work! Policy available on our website.

#Leadership #EquityAndDiversity
Equity and Diversity Principles
AAHPSSS is committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and equitable environment that celebrates diversity and encourages the participation of all individuals. We recognise the value that diverse per…
aahpsss.net.au
June 12, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Quoted once again on matters relating to entry in the USA, and the effect of restricted travel on academia. The lead story is terrifying.

I really wish things had gotten better, not worse!

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Australian woman spends night in US prison after being refused entry
Former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos spent a sleepless night in a US prison cell after being denied entry to visit her husband, a US citizen and army officer.
www.dailymail.co.uk
May 23, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
if you know a lot of stuff i think it is your moral duty to be kind and excited when people learn stuff for the first time. the world is full of stuff we don't know about, don't be mean
April 27, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Just uploaded for #WorldVoiceDay! Living with spasmodic dysphonia, I explain why voice disorders need disability recognition. When your career depends on voice, losing it changes everything. #disability #auspol #SpasmodicDysphonia

youtu.be/U1sKi2dcOiI
World Voice Day Australia 2024: Living with Spasmodic Dysphonia | Disability Advocacy
YouTube video by Gemma Lucy Smart
youtu.be
April 16, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Our total number of students who’ve had their F-1 visas terminated in the SEVIS system is now at 37. All graduate students or recent graduate students.
April 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Thanks to @abcnewsnetau.bsky.social for having me along to speak on this issue #highered #DEI #DEIA #disability #histmed
Shout to my amazing friend and colleague @gemmalucysmart.bsky.social for speaking out on the condition facing Australian academics working or studying in the US. #hps #sts
Academics won't go to US conferences for fear of being detained | ABC News
YouTube video by ABC News (Australia)
youtu.be
April 14, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Worried about travelling to the US? You're not alone. Can immigration deny you entry if you refuse to hand over your phone? What can officials look at or download, and how can you protect your devices?

Here’s what you need to know, and what you can do to prepare, if you are heading to the US.
What Australians flying to the US need to know about phone and device searches at the border
Can immigration deny you entry if you refuse to hand over your phone? What can officials look at or download, and how can you protect your devices?
www.theguardian.com
April 2, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I'm possibly on some watch lists now but I honestly believe this is an issue that we need to speak out on, especially in the context of an election with one party endorsing these sorts of views. Academic freedom without diverse views is not free. Thanks to The Guardian #auspol #histmed #disability
April 14, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Creating a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities would help Australia compete globally, fulfill human rights obligations, and enrich campuses with diverse perspectives currently lost to discrimination.

#disability #highered #equity #internationalstudents #auspol

bit.ly/4ikCida
Unwelcoming Borders: How Australia’s Migration Law Prevents International Students and Staff from Identifying as Disabled - Honi Soit
As Australia competes globally for international talent, creating a more welcoming environment for people with disabilities would not only fulfill human rights obligations, but also enrich campus comm...
bit.ly
April 10, 2025 at 2:38 AM
In my first Disability Honi Soit piece of 2025, I examine a concerning shift at USyd: Anton Martino-Truswell, the Dean of St. Paul's College Graduate House, is stepping down. What will this mean for diversity in Sydney's college community?

#disabliity #carers #highered

honisoit.com/2025/04/a-co...
A College in Transition: Graduate House’s Legacy and Uncertain Next Chapter - Honi Soit
The announcement that Anton Martino-Truswell, the beloved Dean of St. Paul's College Graduate House, is stepping down, marks the end of a transformative chapter of inclusion in Sydney's college commun...
honisoit.com
April 9, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Changing references from APA to Chicago is the least fun.
April 8, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Beautiful, powerful letter

I have been asked by Harvard colleagues if they should keep quiet so as not put the larger Harvard community at risk with their words

Took me a while to ruminate

My response:

Harvard is its people and their voices

If we are silent then there is no Harvard to save
March 20, 2025 at 1:01 AM
CW: SA and courts (thread)

At around this time of day 5 years ago, I got a call from my barrister while sitting on my backyard lawn. Not Guilty of aggravated sexual assault. Not Guilty of sexual assault. But he believed justice had not been served, and reassured me of this. 1/ #sexualassault #metoo
March 20, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
📢 This map reveals which suburbs are carrying the city’s biggest HELP debts.

👉 Report issues, make suggestions
“Swimming in debt”: Sydney’s $14 billion student loan burden
www.smh.com.au
February 16, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
📢 The influencer has been ordered to pay $20,000 after accusing the woman of complicity when a group of male students tore up a report into campus sexual violence.
TikToker defamed female Sydney Uni student over sex assault report protest
www.smh.com.au
February 16, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
2nd Royal Society fellow resigns over Musk’s membership, citing the Council’s “inability to take proportionate action on Musk’s promotion of disinformation and attacks on evidence-based policies and science advice”.

FRS Andrew Millar, prof of engineering bio at Uni of Edinburgh, confirmed to me.
Breaking: Second Royal Society fellow resigns over Musk’s membership

More than 750 scientists, including multiple fellows, criticise academy’s lack of action

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
February 12, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Cat to stop your doomscroll. #academicswithcats
February 13, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Yesterday tinder popped up with a warning that my match 'might not like' me saying to them that I wouldn't meet for a *guaranteed* hook up because of safety concerns. It suggested I rethink sending the message. I can't find tinder here on bluesky, but I'd suggest that's something they need to fix!
February 12, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Fitting that this came out close to #worldcancerday where I share my experience of completing a #PhD whilst Dad had #BowelCancer, & ultimately returning to finish it once he had passed. I hope that those who need it, find it & it helps a little bit💜 #phdlife voicesofacademia.com/2025/02/07/r...
Returning to Your PhD studies Following a Bereavement by Hema Chaplin
TW: Death and family bereavement My father was diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer, just as I was completing my Health Psychology Masters, and just before I found out I had been successful in being…
voicesofacademia.com
February 10, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
can you imagine if i, a historian, said i had a serious amateur's interest in science and that meant i was capable of having meaningful and fully-clued-in conversations about methods and conclusions with a trained scholar?
February 9, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Most of the time I feel like a philosopher who dabbles in history. Then I find a poster from the early 1980s in the State Library that brings on giddy excitement. Moments like this make me feel like a 'real' historian. #dishist #medhist
February 10, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Anyway reminder that solidarity is not transactional, and giving into eugenics is, among other things - deeply embarrassing.

With enough time and luck, disability is coming for all of us. Do yourself a favour and start dealing with the hole in your politics now 💕
January 30, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
People who don’t include disability liberation in their understanding of social justice will never make sense to me.

Like what do you MEAN you oppose sexism, racism, and classism, but the minute the lived reality of that oppression starts showing up physically, all your energy just evaporates?
January 30, 2025 at 2:13 AM
Reposted by Gemma Lucy Smart
Led by Every Australian Counts, 254 disability orgs are calling on Minister Rishworth to stop #NDIS rushed reforms. We need genuine co-design & a phased approach with testing before rollout. Sign: everyaustraliancounts.com.au/in-the-media...

#NDIS #DisabilityRights #CoDesign
Media Release: Take the Time for Codesign: 254 Organisations Demand More Time to Codesign NDIS Reforms - Every Australian Counts
Every Australian Counts is here to make sure the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is delivered as promised and is the best it can be. Find out how the NDIS process works and hear real stori...
everyaustraliancounts.com.au
February 5, 2025 at 11:40 PM