Prosh refers to both a calendar fundraising event and the satirical annual newspaper written by students at the University of Western Australia to raise funds for nominated charities.
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The annual tradition is the collaboration of a team of voluntary students who write, design and edit a spoof newspaper designed to poke fun at current events and political agendas. Content varies, but often contains elements of potty humour or black humour interspersed throughout sometimes surprisingly witty social and political stories. A moderate anti-establishment jilt features in many of the articles, but while the paper strives to cause commotion (as seen in the Prosh motto "Never Apologise, Never Explain!")[1] it remains a purely humorous and satirical publication.
Every April the paper is distributed to the public of Perth's metropolitan area by students dressed in costume in exchange for a donation, often a "gold coin" donation. However, most collectors are willing to accept any sort of small change or cash donation. The day is also marked by a procession through the streets of Perth. The event now involves many carefully designed floats, practical jokes and stunts which are played on the public by participating students.
Those who work in Perth's CBD generally regard the event with good humour or tolerance, although chance shoppers and tourists are often caught off-guard at the appearance of bizarrely dressed young men and women demanding money - typically assertively if good-naturedly. However the Perth City Council sometimes bans traditional UWA Prosh activities in the city [2]
In 1931, a small group of students compiled a small, satirical newspaper called the "SRUSS SRUSS Times" of humorous but possibly offensive content, as part of graduation-time shenanigans. Later in that week, the Perth newspaper The Sunday Times berated the creators of this newspaper, calling it trash and filth, and the creators were subsequently penalised, in the form of a fine payable to the local children's charity. Evidently, this punishment wasn't effective, as the tradition of publishing a satirical humour of 'ill taste' continues to this day, 80 years later, however in a much larger and slightly more organised fashion.
Over the decades of the prosh procession through the city of Perth, various floats and vehicles of dubious form and function passed through the centre of the city prior to the Hay street and Murray Street malls existence. This made both the prosh procession participants, and in turn the spectators excellent targets for interaction with flour, water and beer from the balcony of the hotels then open for trade. City council employees involved in cleaning up were often seen immediately after the last float.
Currently, PROSH (which is now one of the oldest UWA traditions) is kept alive by volunteers writing, editing and distributing the newspaper annually in April - all in the name of fundraising. Each year a new group of charities are chosen as the beneficiaries of all money raised by Prosh. In recent years, over 115,000 papers are sold on the day, with proceeds often breaking the $100,000 barrier.[3] In 2010, all 130,000 papers had been distributed to students by 7:00am.
In recognition of the day, morning classes are cancelled on campus. Students arrive at the university very early on the morning and collect their donation tins and paper. They are then released onto the streets of Perth to sell the newspaper. This continues until just before midday, where they once again meet up in Perth for the Proshession of floats through the CBD. After this finishes, students once again take to the streets to sell the paper.
In 2001, Prosh fundraising broke records to that year [4]
In 2007, Prosh took place on 4 April and made $109,000 was raised for charities.
In 2008, Prosh took place on 9 April and made roughly $125,000 for charity.
In 2009, Prosh took place on 1 April and made roughly $147,000 for charity.
In 2011, Prosh took place on 13 April and while counting continues, has so far made roughly $153,000 for charity, breaking all previous records. The charities being supported this year are the Foodbank of WA, Surf Life Saving Western Australia and Youth Focus.[5]