In the last UGM of Michaelmas Term, a first-time speaker, while on stage, was subjected to a torrent of abusive language from a member of the audience who, temporarily forgetting his prominent station within the student community, proceeded to shout and swear like a crude parody of Alan Sugar. Enlightened debate, this was not. Thankfully, you’ll find no such debasement within these august pages, which – we hope you will agree – continue not only to cover the campus and student issues that matter to you and represent your views, but also remain appealingly designed by a committed editorial team. An editorial team who give up their sleepy Sundays to slave away, without pay, so that this newspaper receives approving gazes from students, academics, and the baristas at the Starbucks on Kingsway. Of course, this endeavour is time-consuming and frequently goes unthanked, which would explain why our personnel changes with the seasons, to reflect individuals’ decisions to concentrate on their studies, or reconnect with lost acquaintances.
The School’s student body is stunningly diverse and international, reflecting a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and academic pursuits. It is for these reasons that the Beaver remains committed to casting a wider net in its coverage of social, political and humanitarian themes. Peruse through Features, Comment, Social or Sport – the number of first-time writers bears witness to the fact that interesting people like writing about interesting things. In a university where students are academically motivated towards interesting subject matter, and where essay writing forms an integral component of many degree programmes, there is little excuse to wield the sword of under-representation with one hand, while handcuffing the other to a mountain of apathy. If you feel your opinions are not adequately voiced, the pen is the greater weapon. Unlike other avenues of discourse within the Union, the Beaver is not the home of petty slander – Sport excepted – for in this temple to freedom of expression, everyone has the right to reply.
With increasing frequency, our website, which airs all comments regardless of the vigour of their convictions, is becoming a vital tool for fostering debate and gauging opinions from across the globe.
Readers are correct to affirm the belief that berating the Sabbatical officers should not be the priority of our News section – and nor is it. Our team of News writers, who are perhaps the most industrious and resourceful of all our contributors, are in the midst of carrying out investigations into weighty School issues, which can only be published when all the facts are in place. The impartial airing of facts is our bread and butter. At our Collective meetings, all are welcome – indeed, on previous occasions, the extent of individuals’ desire to interface with regular contributors has burst the seams of the room booked for the meeting. At the Beaver, we strive to be open and inclusive: the money pensively allocated to us is never spent on insular, alcohol-fuelled parties; our financial accounts can be scrutinised by any inquisitive soul. And now, with the role of the newspaper being questioned from all sides, we have taken stock of our position and opened our doors ever wider to encourage greater participation, greater enthusiasm, and greater support from our loyal readership.
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on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 08:41 and is filed under Comment.
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We never lie in the gutter, man
on 12 Jan 2010 in Comment
In the last UGM of Michaelmas Term, a first-time speaker, while on stage, was subjected to a torrent of abusive language from a member of the audience who, temporarily forgetting his prominent station within the student community, proceeded to shout and swear like a crude parody of Alan Sugar. Enlightened debate, this was not. Thankfully, you’ll find no such debasement within these august pages, which – we hope you will agree – continue not only to cover the campus and student issues that matter to you and represent your views, but also remain appealingly designed by a committed editorial team. An editorial team who give up their sleepy Sundays to slave away, without pay, so that this newspaper receives approving gazes from students, academics, and the baristas at the Starbucks on Kingsway. Of course, this endeavour is time-consuming and frequently goes unthanked, which would explain why our personnel changes with the seasons, to reflect individuals’ decisions to concentrate on their studies, or reconnect with lost acquaintances.
The School’s student body is stunningly diverse and international, reflecting a wide range of backgrounds, interests, and academic pursuits. It is for these reasons that the Beaver remains committed to casting a wider net in its coverage of social, political and humanitarian themes. Peruse through Features, Comment, Social or Sport – the number of first-time writers bears witness to the fact that interesting people like writing about interesting things. In a university where students are academically motivated towards interesting subject matter, and where essay writing forms an integral component of many degree programmes, there is little excuse to wield the sword of under-representation with one hand, while handcuffing the other to a mountain of apathy. If you feel your opinions are not adequately voiced, the pen is the greater weapon. Unlike other avenues of discourse within the Union, the Beaver is not the home of petty slander – Sport excepted – for in this temple to freedom of expression, everyone has the right to reply.
With increasing frequency, our website, which airs all comments regardless of the vigour of their convictions, is becoming a vital tool for fostering debate and gauging opinions from across the globe.
Readers are correct to affirm the belief that berating the Sabbatical officers should not be the priority of our News section – and nor is it. Our team of News writers, who are perhaps the most industrious and resourceful of all our contributors, are in the midst of carrying out investigations into weighty School issues, which can only be published when all the facts are in place. The impartial airing of facts is our bread and butter. At our Collective meetings, all are welcome – indeed, on previous occasions, the extent of individuals’ desire to interface with regular contributors has burst the seams of the room booked for the meeting. At the Beaver, we strive to be open and inclusive: the money pensively allocated to us is never spent on insular, alcohol-fuelled parties; our financial accounts can be scrutinised by any inquisitive soul. And now, with the role of the newspaper being questioned from all sides, we have taken stock of our position and opened our doors ever wider to encourage greater participation, greater enthusiasm, and greater support from our loyal readership.
No related posts.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 08:41 and is filed under Comment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.