Saturday 5 December 2009

A Very Quiet Coup?

Rumours of an editorial coup have rocked the student body's monthly publication, the Vervezine.

The magazine, which has not printed any issues this semester due to a number of technical and managerial problems, will definitely not print anything until after Christmas.

In a surprise move the Communications Officer, Rishi Pancholi, has also replaced Editor Steve Gray. Rishi indicated to members of staff that Steve had chosen to leave on Thursday night, the final deadine for printing.

When asked about his decision, Steve denied having given up editorship, claining that "he [Rishi] hasn't said a word to me".

"I think I'm going to have to take over." - Rishi Pancholi

When asked why the magazine would not be published, Rishi claimed that the layout was not printable. When asked, Layout Editor Victor Delveccio confirmed that the magazine was essentially ready to go.

When asked abotu this, Rishi then claimed that the piece had to go through checking by the university. He alleged that Student Support Officer Eddie Rowley had committed "censorship" by removing a piece about the university's financial crisis. We have emailed Mr. Rowley regarding this claim and will update once he responds after the weekend.

Discussions with Vervezine staff make it clear that this is the last straw. Complaints include the failure to publish their work, the feeling that journalism students' specialist skills are not being taken seriously and concerns about the lack of a process to select the editor.


(Declaration of Interest: The writer is also a member of the Vervezine team.)

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