Anna Davidson
If the highest award in journalism is being shot by the CIA, the second highest is being shot by Milo Dennison of the OxStu for procrastinating your editorial on a Wednesday evening. The past week or so has been full of journalistic excitement: I have learned the value of networking (got a free bottle of wine); of hard work (this editorial has now taken more than 5 minutes); and of paper integrity (I am weighing up whether or not to get a ‘The Oxford Student’ bucket hat).
Many people to thank, as always, for this week’s edition. My co-EiC – if his editorial is mispelled do forgive him, he’s concussed. Ayomi, who has spent a considerable amount of time on the ‘Inspirational Quotes’ section of Goodreads for his. Susie, who wrote her one a while ago. Thanks to Rose, Blane, Anvee, Yii-Jen, Matt, Emily, Dani, Martin. Everyone who writes, edits, commissions. They are all hardworking, very talented, and basically ready for week 5 and 7 already(!)
This week’s edition is full of great pieces. The investigation into the state-educated composition of student societies is particularly interesting; I certainly remember, coming from a state comprehensive, feeling totally intimidated by student journalism. I hope that bringing more awareness to the hurdles preventing state students feeling that they belong will encourage societies to think critically about their networks and accessibility. The OxStu also has progress to make, but I hope we can break down the intimidating image, one hat at a time.
Milo Dennison
I’m currently sitting in the SU contemplating whether I should call 111; in one of those fun twists of fate, I had a rather nasty bicycle crash this morning and it’s currently quite painful to walk. The reactions of my fellow editors were telling: Susie gave me a “Oh sh*t”, Ayomi gave me an “Is it true?” and Anna just laughed hysterically.
I should probably use this as a slightly trite metaphor about how in journalism you should always expect the unexpected, but unfortunately I think I have slightly too much self-respect for that. The point stands though: these past couple of weeks have been full of unexpected events, and it’s to our news team’s credit that they’ve kept you updated on all of them. Ably headed up by Rose, they’ve all been relentless in their pursuit of stories.
Anna has again been an absolute star: I don’t have a clue what I’d do without her. Steering the paper through all its crises, both large and small, she’s not just a wonderful journalist but a great leader (even if I do get bullied in her editorials).
Finally, our whole team has once again been stars. Ayomi and Susie for providing me with reactions for this editorial, Matt for consistently laying in a million pages and Blane for leading the reestablishment of Pink. I can’t wait for the next couple of weeks.
Ayomilekan Adegunwa
I sit here, in the idyllic SU offices, reflecting on yet another print edition of the Oxford Student. The Q-Step deadline is quickly approaching, my code is unwritten and I don’t really understand what the questions mean. Nevertheless, like a lighthouse on the shore, the Oxford Student shines out to me and keeps me safe against the waves of stress induced by the rhythms of Oxford life.
This week I have been pondering the issues of perception. How do I know to trust what I think I see in the world? How can we differentiate between illusion, hallucination and veridical perception? I wish I could tell you. What I can tell you is that this edition of the Oxford Student is a great one – enjoy!
Susie Barrows
A year ago, I was nervously writing my first journalistic endeavour, the impactful and thought-provoking article titled ‘What your chosen work location says about you’. A year on, I’m writing an editorial for the very same paper. I suppose I should impart some sage wisdom here – but I think the main takeaway is simply that the OxStu is so fun. As I scour the internet for post-graduation journalist jobs, it’s funny to think about how different my life would be if I’d never found the joy of writing silly little articles and meeting great people. I’m only hoping the big world of journalism outside of Oxford is even slightly as fun as this – and that the other editors don’t take the mick out of how soppy this editorial is.
