![\"Sally](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/874922ad42b36b92ad6ebbfec3a36885b51faefe.png\")
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Updated April 29, 2026 \u2014 6:11pm,first published 5:15pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Rachael \u201cRaygun\u201d Gunn has taken a swipe at the state of higher education in Australia after the Olympian\u2019s redundancy from Macquarie University earlier this year became public.<\/p>\n Gunn came to global prominence after the 2024 Games, where her kangaroo hops, contorting and Australia tracksuit failed to garner a single point from the judges as breaking made its Olympic debut.<\/p>\n Gunn took a voluntary redundancy from the university\u2019s Faculty of Arts in February, saying she had seen \u201cthe writing on the wall\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to have a serious conversation about higher education in this country,\u201d she told the Herald on Wednesday evening, saying she was concerned about the student experience, the psychosocial hazards facing staff and the spending on buildings, consultants and executive pay.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very worried for my colleagues. I don\u2019t think that things are getting better for them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Gunn has been working on a number of projects including public speaking<\/a> after she left the university in February.<\/p>\n Her Olympic debut rapidly became a meme and then the biggest story of the Games \u2013 an Australian dancer-turned-professor whose bizarre stylings saw her eliminated at the first stage of the competition.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to do something artistic and creative. How many chances do you get in a lifetime to do something on the international stage? It was important to me, from that sense, to do the performance that I did,\u201d she said at the time.<\/p>\n Gunn may well be the only female Australian breaker to ever dance at the Olympics, as the event has not been included on the schedule for Los Angeles 2028.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to make an impression in a different way,\u201d she told reporters after her event.<\/p>\n \u201cMy chances were always very slim, but I still worked my butt off to try to represent the best that I could.\u201d<\/p>\n Gunn\u2019s significant research output included papers titled \u201cNocturnal Paradox: How Breakdancing reveals the potentials of the night\u201d, \u201cRe-articulating Gender Norms through breakdancing\u201d and \u201cThe \u2018systems of relay\u2019 in doing cultural studies: experimenting with the \u2018Body without Organs\u2019 in b-girling practice.\u201d<\/p>\n Gunn had been at Macquarie since she completed her undergraduate degree more than a decade ago; she had been lecturing on media and cultural studies for five years.<\/p>\n Related Article Gunn\u2019s redundancy comes as the university\u2019s arts department makes wide-ranging cuts, which vice chancellor Bruce Dowton told a parliamentary inquiry<\/a> earlier this month were not unfairly focused on the faculty.<\/p>\n \u201cA number of things were taken into account as we move towards proposing changes \u2026 funding model changes, regulatory environment, international student downturn and so on \u2013 but also the reality that the demand for courses in the Faculty of Arts has changed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The chair of the inquiry, Dr Sarah Kaine, raised concerns about \u201csham redundancies\u201d within the Faculty of Arts.<\/p>\n In 2024, Gunn again made headlines when she demanded $10,000 from a Sydney comedy club set to stage Raygun the Musical<\/a>.<\/p>\n Macquarie University said it was unable to comment on \u201cconfidential employment arrangements\u201d.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Australia\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/dce2c4fa5fb5c79e1f7bcdfbc74e66b93584f8cf.gif\")
Australia\u2019s Olympic breakdancer Raygun celebrates with teammates ahead of the Paris 2024 closing ceremony.X<\/p>\n![\"Rachael](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/552c9aa752b510fd5785209580df08a3bb03f1bb.jpeg\")
Rachael Gunn, known as B-Girl Raygun, failed to garner a single point during her performance.nna\\KCampbell<\/p>\n![\"Raygun](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/7c01a5e8c539e2828988c79097a5c51a7f0e1b63.jpeg\")
Raygun competes at the Paris Olympics.AP<\/p>\n![\"Another](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/b7b4c1b790597442f192986f30c0799e60ea0ffe.jpeg\")
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