This is the first time I’ve written something for Nouse in 'The Weekly Nouse' that I didn’t actually want to write. I joined Nouse almost two years ago as the Film and TV editor thinking I would have a blast writing cheeky reviews and that would be it. Little did I know that the more time I spent at our office – the more I sat there staring at why the text wrap wasn’t wrapping around that cut-out, or wondering what on earth ‘bleed’ means, the more I would fall in love with this paper.
It’s sometimes hard to ignore the age-old argument that student journalists take themselves too seriously writing things that many people will never read, and to some extent that is probably true. But we get to give students the space to write about things ranging from alcohol bans in South Africa to YA book reviews, and I still can’t get over how awesome that is. In this edition of The Weekly Nouse, Maya Barber looks at the ethics behind fashion brands in regard to the BLM movement, Sam Campbell comments on defunding the police in the UK, and Alex Thompson talks to a cam girl about her work during lockdown for this week’s Life in Lockdown.
Even though it won’t be coming from me, I’m sure that you will continue to read Editor’s Notes that highlight the amazing content in every edition of the paper, because I’m sure that our future team will continue to write articles worthy of such mentions. In much the same way, I’m sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that joining Nouse back in 2018 and throwing myself at something that oftentimes became more important than my degree was the best decision I made while at University.
While the content of the paper speaks for itself, the one thing that makes it all the more worthy are the people. I would have never ventured into writing for others sections of MUSE and encouraged others to do the same if I hadn’t seen Alex do it so effortlessly. I would have never been excited over InDesign graphics (or known I was such a natural at tennis) if it weren’t for Pat. And I would have never even ran for Deputy MUSE Editor or grown confident in the role if it weren’t for Jonny; thank you for showing me the only way of getting from Lowther to Flares. And my overall University experience definitely wouldn’t have been the same if I hadn’t gotten the chance to work with the wonderful team of editors we have.
I had always underestimated how amazing it can be to feel like an integral part of a group, mostly because I hadn’t properly experienced it before Nouse. The feeling of stepping into a room and actually feeling like you’re wanted and needed is something that Nouse gave me and I will never forget that. So here goes a giant thank you to the student media group that gave me so much; I hope I was able to give a little something back. And while we unfortunately couldn’t get the satisfaction of seeing the last two editions of the paper in print and stressing over typos in the front page over Alex’s playlists on ‘hell Monday’ and going for a drink afterwards, it’s been one hell of a ride boys, thank you.
